SolaTubes for reef tanks
- Thread starter 440cudaman
- Start date
- Status
mborn
New member
Hey everyone, thanks for the nice comments and sorry for the late response. Work has been very hectic lately... been putting in late nights to hit project deadlines.
kheflw: My tank is 84" X 24" X 36". I installed the tubes myself. It wasn't too hard, just had to get over the fear of cutting holes in my roof. The flashing was a little wide so I had to overlap them to get the tubes that close together over the length of my tank. Because the flashings were overlapped they weren't completely flush with the roof so I had to use extra roof sealant to get a watertight seal. After I installed them a couple of big rainstorms passed though and the tubes didn't leak a drop. The room is east to west so the sun is over the room for most of the day. There is bright light for about 5-6 hours and direct sunlight for about 3 hours. It's much different than artificial light in that the angle the light enters the water changes as the sun moves across the sky. It's mostly apparent with the direct sunlight. Some spots in the tank get 3 hours of direct light and others get only from 30 minutes to 1 hour of direct sunlight a day. So I've placed the corals in the various spots depending on their light requirements. For example the acro?s that need lots of light to maintain color are in spots that get substantial direct light and the monti?s, which in general don?t need as much light, are in spots that don?t get any direct light just bright indirect light. I left off the diffusers to get as much direct light as possible because many of my SPS corals need very bright light and my tank is fairly deep. If you?re going to keep soft corals or LPS corals or your tank is not too deep you could probably get away with less intense light and use diffusers and get more even lighting across your entire tank for most of the day. The roof of my aquarium room has no attic space so the tubes are only 2 feet long with no bends so when the sun is directly overhead it shines right down the tubes and directly into the tank.
Herpervet: The tubes are 13 inches above the water. I?m not using any diffusers.
baja_01: The main reason I decided to use Solatubes for this tank was to save money on my power bill so I?m not planning on using any supplemental artificial lighting. I saved $110 on my last power bill compared to my last tank when I was using MH lighting. The tubes should pay for themselves in about 10 months. As far as the rock, I like the look with the corals low in the tank growing up into the water column. Hopefully in the coming years that empty space above will be filled with lush coral growth.
RedEyeReef: See above.
Wazbot: Your project is looking great.
Corro: No problem and thanks. See above.
JMBoehling: Yes, welcome to reefcentral. It?s nice to know your monti?s are growing fast under the Solatubes too. So far my acro?s have great polyp extension and are starting to grow. They?re holding their colors as well but it?s only been 1.5 months.
kheflw: My tank is 84" X 24" X 36". I installed the tubes myself. It wasn't too hard, just had to get over the fear of cutting holes in my roof. The flashing was a little wide so I had to overlap them to get the tubes that close together over the length of my tank. Because the flashings were overlapped they weren't completely flush with the roof so I had to use extra roof sealant to get a watertight seal. After I installed them a couple of big rainstorms passed though and the tubes didn't leak a drop. The room is east to west so the sun is over the room for most of the day. There is bright light for about 5-6 hours and direct sunlight for about 3 hours. It's much different than artificial light in that the angle the light enters the water changes as the sun moves across the sky. It's mostly apparent with the direct sunlight. Some spots in the tank get 3 hours of direct light and others get only from 30 minutes to 1 hour of direct sunlight a day. So I've placed the corals in the various spots depending on their light requirements. For example the acro?s that need lots of light to maintain color are in spots that get substantial direct light and the monti?s, which in general don?t need as much light, are in spots that don?t get any direct light just bright indirect light. I left off the diffusers to get as much direct light as possible because many of my SPS corals need very bright light and my tank is fairly deep. If you?re going to keep soft corals or LPS corals or your tank is not too deep you could probably get away with less intense light and use diffusers and get more even lighting across your entire tank for most of the day. The roof of my aquarium room has no attic space so the tubes are only 2 feet long with no bends so when the sun is directly overhead it shines right down the tubes and directly into the tank.
Herpervet: The tubes are 13 inches above the water. I?m not using any diffusers.
baja_01: The main reason I decided to use Solatubes for this tank was to save money on my power bill so I?m not planning on using any supplemental artificial lighting. I saved $110 on my last power bill compared to my last tank when I was using MH lighting. The tubes should pay for themselves in about 10 months. As far as the rock, I like the look with the corals low in the tank growing up into the water column. Hopefully in the coming years that empty space above will be filled with lush coral growth.
RedEyeReef: See above.
Wazbot: Your project is looking great.
Corro: No problem and thanks. See above.
JMBoehling: Yes, welcome to reefcentral. It?s nice to know your monti?s are growing fast under the Solatubes too. So far my acro?s have great polyp extension and are starting to grow. They?re holding their colors as well but it?s only been 1.5 months.
Hef
Premium Member
Only 2Ft. Long. Thats great. Do you know if there is a way to make them Retractable for about a foot? I want the best of both worlds for my tank. Natural Sunlight until about 5:00pm then slide in a light rack with Halides and Actinic. It would be easy to do if I could get the tubes out of the way.
You say you are 13" above the water...looks a lot closer than that in the picture. If I can stay that high up, I might be able to slide lights in without moving the tubes.
So I would think the Early Morning Light would look pretty cool coming in. Do you ever get light with an Orange Tint to it - Sunrise - Sunset, or is there not enough light?
Thanks for the Info.
Hef
You say you are 13" above the water...looks a lot closer than that in the picture. If I can stay that high up, I might be able to slide lights in without moving the tubes.
So I would think the Early Morning Light would look pretty cool coming in. Do you ever get light with an Orange Tint to it - Sunrise - Sunset, or is there not enough light?
Thanks for the Info.
Hef
dgasmd
New member
Those pictures are very very impressive. Makes me want to relocate my tank completely and do it with all naturals sunlight instead of the MH. Simply impressive. I just wished I had a spot in the hosue where I could do this. Keep up the good work and the pictures coming from time to time. If there was any doubt if this thread was going to die, I think the pictures just made it inmortal LOL................
Herpervet
New member
Mborn: Are you using a clear acrylic lens at the distal end of the tubes or is it open. I have been worried about condensation in the tubes without any lens at all.
Wazbot: same question to you. It doesn't look like there is anything at the end of your tubes.
I would like to avoid a lens but I am worried about the moisture in the light well (i.e tubes).
Wazbot: same question to you. It doesn't look like there is anything at the end of your tubes.
I would like to avoid a lens but I am worried about the moisture in the light well (i.e tubes).
@ Herpervet: There is nothing at the end of the tubes, I am getting a little bit of moisture building up on the domes on the roof, but none that I can see on the tubes themselves. The moisture doesn't seem to make any impact on the amout of blinding light that pours out of these things, but if it gets worse I may put a thin clear acrylic cap on the ends.
Morning light is nice, sunset is better, and the moonlight is great!
:rollface:
Morning light is nice, sunset is better, and the moonlight is great!
:rollface:
JMBoehling
Premium Member
Same with my Tube.. Get a little condensation on the dome in the morning but it burns off by 9 to 10 am... Actually, it still gives a good amount of light into the tank..
As far as reflectors go, I bet Solatube would make one if they knew our market exists! It would be nivce to have a 10" and 14" round to 24" x 8" rectangular adapter for our tanks....
Also note: I do not use the diffuser on mine either... Check out my photo gallery..
As far as reflectors go, I bet Solatube would make one if they knew our market exists! It would be nivce to have a 10" and 14" round to 24" x 8" rectangular adapter for our tanks....
Also note: I do not use the diffuser on mine either... Check out my photo gallery..
JMBoehling
Premium Member
YodaHart:
Yes I do.. I have Coralife 65 w PC Actinic and 65 w 10,000k in each side... 2 strip lights on each...
I highly recommend Actinic to lift your colors, just like you do with MH's and other 10,000k bulbs, we always add supplemental Actinic...
Now that I see how well the Solatube is working, I plan to add an additional one soon, giving me one on each side of my 90...
Yes I do.. I have Coralife 65 w PC Actinic and 65 w 10,000k in each side... 2 strip lights on each...
I highly recommend Actinic to lift your colors, just like you do with MH's and other 10,000k bulbs, we always add supplemental Actinic...
Now that I see how well the Solatube is working, I plan to add an additional one soon, giving me one on each side of my 90...
JMBoehling
Premium Member
Light is more dramatic looking, similiar to snorkeling or scuba diving.. As for the color of my corals, I would say color is similiar to the artificial, but the Polyp Extension of my Shrooms, Ricordea, and SPS's is much better with the Natural Light...
Also, it doesn't cost me a dime to run, and the Heat Transfer appears to be much, much less than artificial sources...
Also, it doesn't cost me a dime to run, and the Heat Transfer appears to be much, much less than artificial sources...
YodaHart
In Memoriam
mborn
New member
Hef, the tubes come in two pieces. A top piece that goes inside the flashing that the exterior dome fits on and that the bottom half goes through the hole in the roof and sticks out of the hole in the ceiling. The second piece fits inside the first and has the diffuser attachment at the end. The second tube piece can be moved up and down inside the first tube to adjust length and angle. When the second tube is extended all the way both tubes together are 2 feet. If you want it shorter just push the second tube up inside the first, like a telescope, to whatever length you want. You should be able to adjust them high enough up to slide a light rack in place. The tubes you see in my pictures are the second piece and the upper part is inside the tube that is going through the roof.
I don't see light with an orange tint to it. To my eyes the light looks the same color, it's just either dim or bright depending on the time of day.
Herpervet, no I don't have lenses at the ends of the tubes and I have also observed some condensation on the inside of the dome. Like JMB I've noticed it burns off about mid morning unless the humidity is really high like on a rainy day.
I don't see light with an orange tint to it. To my eyes the light looks the same color, it's just either dim or bright depending on the time of day.
Herpervet, no I don't have lenses at the ends of the tubes and I have also observed some condensation on the inside of the dome. Like JMB I've noticed it burns off about mid morning unless the humidity is really high like on a rainy day.
With all the replies I am joining this thread kinda late. I need some help before I blow some dough. I also live in Arizona out in Litchfield park and am putting in a 60" x 30" x 24" starphire glass tank with euro bracing. I am also installing sola tubes for light.
My question is this, with a 30" deep tank and roofing constraints that will only allow one 14" tube or two 10" tubes, How will this work and which scenario would you go with? I am excited about this project and the idea of using NSL instead MH's is really appealing.
I also want to know what you replaced the UV filter cover with?
Let me know what you think. My biggest problem is the company I have looking at installin them is at a loss when I tell them it is for a Tank. I think they think I am growing Pot instead. Thanks for the help.
Ed C
My question is this, with a 30" deep tank and roofing constraints that will only allow one 14" tube or two 10" tubes, How will this work and which scenario would you go with? I am excited about this project and the idea of using NSL instead MH's is really appealing.
I also want to know what you replaced the UV filter cover with?
Let me know what you think. My biggest problem is the company I have looking at installin them is at a loss when I tell them it is for a Tank. I think they think I am growing Pot instead. Thanks for the help.
Ed C
JMBoehling
Premium Member
reefdna,
You are making a great decision to install SolaTubes.. I recommend the (02) 10" vs. 01 (14")... You will get better coverage on your tank with the (02)..
As far as the UV Filter... I installed the Suntek 10" Suntunnel from Home Depot... www.odl.com
The only thing I didn't install is the light diffuser at the tank end... My corals seem to be doing great with this setup..
Funny you mention the pot thing.. My neighbor asked me about the blue glow on my roof the other day, I explained it is a skylight for my Reef Tank (Not to be confused with Reefer Tank..)... She laughed and stated she wondered what that was all about...
Good luck with your project...
You are making a great decision to install SolaTubes.. I recommend the (02) 10" vs. 01 (14")... You will get better coverage on your tank with the (02)..
As far as the UV Filter... I installed the Suntek 10" Suntunnel from Home Depot... www.odl.com
The only thing I didn't install is the light diffuser at the tank end... My corals seem to be doing great with this setup..
Funny you mention the pot thing.. My neighbor asked me about the blue glow on my roof the other day, I explained it is a skylight for my Reef Tank (Not to be confused with Reefer Tank..)... She laughed and stated she wondered what that was all about...
Good luck with your project...
Hef
Premium Member
So how much are the SunTek's at Home Depot? Didnt know they sold those. Never thought about the Blue Glow, do you actually see blue come up out of the Tube? Reflection of the water? I wouldnt think you would see that.
I hoping to go for (3) 14" over a 7 ft. Tank. How is the spread on the lights after it leaves the Tube?
Hef
I hoping to go for (3) 14" over a 7 ft. Tank. How is the spread on the lights after it leaves the Tube?
Hef
JMBoehling
Premium Member
Actually the blue glow comes from my moonlights that reflects back up the tube...
Another note: I do supplement my tank with Coralife PC lights.. I like the Actinic light when combined with the natural sunlight...
Another note: I do supplement my tank with Coralife PC lights.. I like the Actinic light when combined with the natural sunlight...
Chihuahua6
Premium Member
I'm having a house built as we speak and luckily my builder is familiar with Solatubes. I definitely want to use them. I live in coastal South Carolina now all the way South so the sun is strong. My question is concerning the bracing on an acrylic tank. Can the tubes go above the bracing or would it be better to have them go over the water surface only?
Amanda
Amanda
gatohoser
New member
Well it would be better to have it over water I'd think right guys? I'm sure the acrylic soaks up some light. I don't know what you're thinking of though. If you are going to put 2 14" tubes around the brace or 3 14" tubes if you put one over the brace I'd think then you might as well put one over the brace.
- Status
