SolaTubes for reef tanks

[Rod the Roofer]

Hi Guys and gals on the other side of the world!

Well there has been a lot of talking, planning and R & D, but I’ve finally done it!!

My dream was to have natural sunlight supplementing my Mh’s.

A bit of background:

I set up my 4’ 6” x 18” x 20” three years ago and have been keeping mainly stoneys. I ventured into the realm of SPS only a couple of years ago.

I have an Eheim 1260 main return pump and another 1260 closed loop giving me over ten times flow.

There are two sumps. In one I have live rock, caulerpa and heaps of pods. The other houses the return, heaters, auto top off (dosing Kalk) and the Turbofloater 1000. I also run a Calcium reactor.

I have two x 150w Mh pendants supplemented with actinic.

Here’s a pic ;

After following various threads on skylights and natural lighting I decided to go for it!

My thought was that the extra light would be supplemental to the Mh’s and wouldn’t replace them. The tank was settled and mature and was already capable of supporting SPS.

Here’s a pic ;

Being a roofer I just happened to have a few skylights hanging around.
I joined two 2' x 2'8'' skylight frames together as I needed a long rectangle to suit the tank. Living in a high bush fire danger area I couldn’t use the domes (Plus I didn’t think I’d get enough light through them) so I discarded them and after much research ordered a sheet of 1/2" clear laminated glass to go on top.
Fortunately the roof faces north so it picks up max sun. (Equivalent of south facing for you guys)
I liked the idea of Solatube style tubes to bring the directed light right down to the tank and thought that three tubes alternating with the pendants would be good.
As you can see in the pic, my ceiling is raked so I had the added hassle of different length tubes. The shortest is 4' up to the longest at 5'6".
Another problem was that the Solatube tubes only come in 18" and 2' lengths that you stick together with tape, which I thought was going to look pretty ordinary inside the room.
The way I got around that was to give them a twin skin of HIP â€"œ high impact polystyrene.

Here are some pics of the install ;

And here’s a pic of inside ;

I had to re-think the actinic light issue as the old fittings were in the way of the tubes. So I suspended a 4’ just in front of the lights/tubes.
So I could still get into the tank I installed retractable suspension cables.

Here’s a pic of the tank with all lighting in place ;
(Just skylight, about 9am, no lights on)

Here’s a pic of tubes and actinic, about 9.30am

And all lights on, about 11.30am

I purchased a light meter to check just how much I was getting. (Readings at 12 noon 10.9.06)

Under the 150 Mh â€"œ 150000 Lux (6" from lamp)
Under the skylight â€"œ 190000 Lux (6" from tube)
Outside in full sunshine â€"œ 160000 Lux

Observations so far :

Incredible natural dawn. (Mandarin and shrimp love it!)
Very natural fluctuations in light as clouds go overhead.
Amazing moon light.

Well that’s it!! I think that during summer I will probably be able to turn off the halides. During winter I will need them and during spring and autumn, we’ll wait and see.

Rod. :thumbsup:

 

[Herpervet]

Wow! Now there is an awesome first post. Very clean job there. You made it look very professional. I wish I had that kind of talent for construction.

Here is a link to my tank. I have skylights and halides also.

I am sure I have posted pics to this thread in the past but a friend recently updated them for me.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8118722#post8118722

 

[Rod the Roofer]

Thanks Herpervet,

I have been following this thread for some time now (Lurking) and I am very impressed with your tank.

In fact it was tanks on this very thread (and others in Aus.) that inspired me to launch into my own project.

As we are approaching our summer I'm very excited to see how the natural light will go.

So far I'm quite pleased with the amount of light, considering we've just come out of winter.

Rod. :thumbsup:

 

[Hef]

Excellent, I'm sure that thread will motivate a lot of us (hopefully Me -
Under the 150 Mh â€"œ 150000 Lux (6" from lamp)
Under the skylight â€"œ 190000 Lux (6" from tube)
Outside in full sunshine â€"œ 160000 Lux

Dont know much about Lux - can you talk a little more about this? Are you saying the Skylight is actually brighter than the MH?

 

[Rod the Roofer]

Thanks Hef,

I'm no expert on these matters but according to Wikipedia "Lux is a unit of illuminance. It is used in photometry as a measure of the intensity of light."

As Herpervet has mentioned, there is a focused spot of light from the tubes that moves with the sun. I measured this spot with the Lux Meter. To be fair, I measured the brightest spot under the Mh and got the best reading I could from the sun as well.

I measured the light readings at 12 noon and yes, the reading from the skylight was brighter than the Mh and indeed the sun outside. Earlier and later in the day the skylight was not as bright.

Hope this answers your question.

Rod. :thumbsup:

 

[Hef]

Thanks, I would be interested in light readings for a few different times of the day if you get around to doing it.

Try to get us a photo of the tank with just natural light from the same angle and size as the other photos.

 

[salty joe]

Rod,
Very nice looking tank.
Did you use low iron glass (the real clear stuff like Starfire brand) for the skylight?

Also, if you take lux readings at different times of day, could you measure both under the tube as well as outside?

As a side note, the light from any artificial source will drop off dramaticlly as the distance from the lamp increases. This is not a concern with sunlight. I think the formula is in one of Sanjay's articles on light.

 

[hawaiianwargod]

Rod the Roofer,

Very nice work!!! Impressive. I probably implement solatubes next summer.

 

[RGibson]

Ron very nice tank even if you have the sun facing the wrong way.

 

[Lordhelmet]

I can't wait to get my own tank and do a solar tank.
i hope to se growth pics in a few months.

 

[Rod the Roofer]

Thanks everyone for your encouragement.

Hef,

Here are some light readings during the day: (Please note today we had light whispy clouds)

10 am - skylight - 20 000 Lux
- outside - 130 000 Lux

11am - skylight - 95 000 Lux
- outside - 147 000 Lux

12noon - skylight â€"œ 150 000 Lux
- outside - 159 000 Lux

1pm - skylight â€"œ 130 000 Lux
- outside â€"œ 153 000 Lux
From 2pm more cloud rolled in and made it impossible to get any more meaningful readings.

It was interesting that today with light whispy clouds the reading from the sun at 12 noon was only slightly lower than two days ago, but the reading from the tubes was a fair bit lower.

Here is a shot of just natural sunlight at 12 noon:

Salty joe,

I didn’t use Starfire glass, just standard clear glass.
It’s laminated as there are quite a few legal issues and codes to comply with for overhead glazing. It’s two sheets of ¼ inch glass (notice I’m using imperial for you?) with a .38mm laminate (couldn’t be bothered working that one out in imperial)

Also, as you have stated “the light from any artificial source will drop off dramatically as the distance from the lamp increases. This is not a concern with sunlight.”
This is correct and I did ponder what distance I should take my readings from. I settled for 6” (imperial again) from the lamps and the ends of the tubes. (Which is water level on my tank).

Also, here are the other links to threads that have inspired me that you asked for in your Email:

http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=166313&highlight=

This link contains other links.


RGibson,

LOL, the main problem reefers have here in Australia is keeping water in our tanks as we are upside down as you know! Oh yeah, my name is Rod.

Rod. :thumbsup:

 

[DgenR8]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8126878#post8126878 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rod the Roofer
LOL, the main problem reefers have here in Australia is keeping water in our tanks as we are upside down as you know!

:lmao:

 

[hahnmeister]

FWIW, I did a skylight system for a 1500g reef tank in Chicago, and Velux Skylight Company was able to make laminate clear glass skylights for me... but thats as good as it gets, unless you can find an acrylic maker, but thats a whole other can of worms. Best of all, the Skylights (three of them 21" wide by 70" high) were laminate, so they are strong, and they cost no more than regular velux skylights.

Just for those who need to know. Sorry I cant post pics, hes a CEO and he cares not to have pics taken of whats inside his home. But I was lucky enough to help set it up and see it when I like. Who knows, maybe some day he'll want to show it off...

 

[Airman]

Rod,
Welcome to Reef Central!

You have a great looking tank and I like the way your light tubes look. I believe you have a great mixture for lighting. If you start your own thread on RC about your tank PM me so I can subscribe to it.

 

[salty joe]

Hey Rod,

I do appreciate the imperial units. So, what material is the .38mm laminate. And isn't there a name for a tenth of a millimeter? Just kidding.

I used to do nothing but roofing - you do nice work.

Joe

 

[Rod the Roofer]

Hi Joe,

Good question. I believe it's like a sheet of plastic.

I'll have to enquire.

Thanks Airman,

I'm not up on subscribing to threads. Please explain.

Rod. :thumbsup:

 

[BenjieC]

Right under the quick reply. to the right there is a "subscribe to this thread button" click on it and it will add it to your "My RC" that way can you find the thread easier.

 

[WDLV]

Thanks for the great thread.

Thanks for the great thread.

This has been a great thread to read. It took me a while to find this one as RC has a wealth of information to sort through....

I am in the planning stages of a 2000-5000 gallon system; for which I just got permission from the better half to build as an addition to our next home! I plan to use solar light tubes as the main source of illumination. I'd like to keep all types of corals, anemones, reef safe and some not so reef safe fish in this system.

1. For those of you who are using these or have worked closely with those who are using these, would you recommend Sola Tubes over any other brand? If so why?

2. Must I absolutely use additional sources of light in the winter months or could the corals get by with the lower light and shorter photoperiods? (I live in Maryland.)

3. Have there been any heat issues that you think I need to plan for?

4. If I put them in multiple rows, are there any structural modifications I will need to make to the roof?

Thanks in advance!

 

[salty joe]

Re: Thanks for the great thread.

Re: Thanks for the great thread.

I am in the planning stages of a 2000-5000 gallon system; for which I just got permission from the better half to build as an addition to our next home! I plan to use solar light tubes as the main source of illumination. I'd like to keep all types of corals, anemones, reef safe and some not so reef safe fish in this system.

WOW!! When is your next home gonne be?




4. If I put them in multiple rows, are there any structural modifications I will need to make to the roof?

Your roof trusses will probably be 24" on center. The large Sola Tube, 21" I believe, is made to go between that space. So I would have to say probably not. I would be concerned that they might shade each other if installed in a row.

 

[WDLV]

Re: Re: Thanks for the great thread.

Re: Re: Thanks for the great thread.

Sorry Salty Joe. No eye candy any time soon. Tentatively I'm looking at 2 years. Sooner would be nice though.
Thanks for the info. I will have to do rows because of the width (8'.)
I was thinking the smaller tubes would be better???