SolaTubes for reef tanks

[SAT]

Here's an Oculina robusta frag that broke off the main colony during shipping. I epoxied it to a hunk of dead millipora about 8" below the water line. That was less than two weeks ago. To my eye it seems to be starting to grow over the epoxy.

 

[SAT]

Here's some Briareum and Ricordea that I got from Reeftopia last week. The Briareum hasn't fully opened yet. Note the color of the Ricordea, which I think comes out pretty well in the sunlight.

 

[SAT]

Here's some Cladocora. The small center & upper left colonies came in on the first chunk of live rock in February and somehow survived the cycling. The larger colony on the right came in about 2 weeks ago. The small center colony appears to have grown and developed some color -- green polyp centers -- since introduction.

 

[SAT]

And here's some Halimeda, which has started growing nicely in the last week or so, now that the micro algae is under control and the calcium levels are up.

 

[Jimbo327]

How about a picture of the tubes? And a whole tank shot with tubes in the picture to see the light intensity? Much appreciated!

Jim

 

[SAT]

Here's one taken close to noon for comparison.

 

[SAT]

And here's one with the panels open. All you can see is the bottom of the tubes and the 2 VHO strips right below them.

 

[photobarry]

That looks nice and bright!

-Barry

 

[H20ENG]

SAT,
Thanks for the update! You've just made a lot of curious reefers happy!
How is the RCSD working out?
Chris

 

[SAT]

SAT,
Thanks for the update! You've just made a lot of curious reefers happy!
How is the RCSD working out?
Chris

You're welcome.

The RCSD is working pretty well. It fires about once a minute, creating a 1" wave that travels the length of the tank and then bounces back and forth for about 10 seconds. The effect appears quite natural. It is rather noisy though... I have it pretty well muffled but even so it isn't for everyone.

 

[H20ENG]

Do you have details of your RCSD on another thread? If not, we want 'em!!
Volume, airflow, slot opening, etc.
It seems I read about yours once, but lost it. I came up with a baffle box to muffle the noise and water spray from the RCSD exhaust. Let me know if you want more details.
Chris

 

[SAT]

There's a few RCSD details here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=144989

I experimented with mufflers too. I ended up just spewing the exhaust across the surface of the tank. That works because the tank cover contains the spray and the aquarium closet is sound insulated.

 

[Jimbo327]

Nice shot of the full tank. It's pretty darn bright! I can imagine the energy savings with the solar tubes. Very cool. What are your stocking plans for this baby? SPS, I hope.

Jimmy

Keep us updated with the progress. :rollface:

 

[SAT]

What are your stocking plans for this baby? SPS, I hope.

It's a Caribbean/Florida biotype reef. I'd love to have a thicket of Acropora cervicornis or A. prolifera and some Agaricia, but that's not in the cards. For the time being I'll have to be happy with the Oculina robusta, what came in on the live rock, gorgonians, and polyps. Then again, maybe I'll break down and stick in a few Indo-Pacific look-alikes.

For fish, I'm thinking a group of yellowhead jawfish (the frame hides the 6" sand bed), a harem of royal grammas, and something that schools. I'm having trouble with that last part... not a lot of great choices.

 

[baja_01]

and something that schools. I'm having trouble with that last part... not a lot of great choices.

Chalk basses!!! Cool little fish that are supposed to school. I know Reeftopia.com has them.

 

[andrejka]

Thank you, Stuart!

I just came back from trip to Florida. Went snorkeling on Key Largo too! With images of real reef still fresh in memory, I do think that your tank looks VERY natural!!! The colors are absolutely pleasing to my eye (I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of overly blue tanks though).
Interesting rockwork too! I really like it.
As to the choice of schooling fish, it's too bad that Longspine Cardinalfish come from Indian Ocean....
I take it you wouldn't want a school of Sergeant Majors in your tank either

Please, keep us updated.

 

[SAT]

Thanks Andrey! That's the effect I was going for.

The longspine cardinal is interesting... but not really an option for this tank. I considered flame cardinals, but I think I would never see them.

Sergeant Majors would be cool... I used to catch 1/2" specimens in tide pools and they were really cute. If only I could keep them from growing past 1/2". :rollface:

baja_01, I think chalk bass are cool too. However, I believe they mill around in loose aggregates rather than schooling. I'm going for the zebra danio / neon tetra look -- without much success.

I'm surprised no one sells silversides. I saw some really interesting ones at the Bermuda Aquarium.

 

[lead]

Hey Stuart,

That is pretty coool! I just found your thread tonight and read the whole thing. I was wondering about the UV shielding on the dome. Did you take the UV filter off the dome or is it still on the dome?
Lead:bum:

 

[SAT]

I was wondering about the UV shielding on the dome. Did you take the UV filter off the dome or is it still on the dome?

Hi Lead! Glad you enjoyed it.

I didn't do anything special for UV. I replaced the diffuser with a clear acrylic sheet, but I doubt that affected the UV. I don't know how much UV gets through the acrylic dome and is reflected by the walls, but I suspect it's a fair amount -- particularly since my corals are showing some color change. In any case, I doubt sunlight is as hazardous as many MH lamps.

BTW, I am definitely getting some heating from the sunlight, so infrared is coming through. I don't think it's as much as equivalent artificial lamps but I can tell the difference.

 

[SAT]

Lead,

And by the way,

[welcome]