Sunlit Picos
- Thread starter pheromo
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Butchdawg14
In Memoriam
no you will have a full tank of algae with any sun exposure
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
not true, and it is a myth that sunlight causes algae... you have algae in MH systems as well as NO flor. systems. Any ways you CAN keep a sunlit pico! Just like any highlight system, you have to be wary of nutrients that cause algal blooms. Without nitrogen or phosphous, algae cant bloom regardless of how much light it gets. Many people have larger systems that get direct sunlight and some aquaculture coral farms use sunlight to supplement and enhance coral. Now with picos, keeping proper conditions is more difficult since there is little room for error. Nutrients can spike easily and temperature swings can cause havoc. Make sure you have the window well insolated before placing a tank near it. In addition the tank is going to heat up from direct sunlight so keep a watch on the high temp as well as the low temp.
Anyways, I have a 1.5pico that gets a western sun but I also supplement with powercompacts. I dont keep any big lifeform other than one snail and a hermit to keep wastes down. Goodluck!
Anyways, I have a 1.5pico that gets a western sun but I also supplement with powercompacts. I dont keep any big lifeform other than one snail and a hermit to keep wastes down. Goodluck!
clowninaround74
New member
im sorry but i disagree with you poor. Direct sunlight provides unwanted phosphates into the system which will produce algae. Its the same thing as if you dont change your bulbs for 2 years, yes you will still have light but proper spectrum will be lost, causing unwanted algae growth. this is the same for sunlight.
Yes you can "light" any aquarium with sunlight only (ocean) but not only will you get excess amounts of algae, but you would get no color out of your corals (so why would you want to???)
just my .02
Yes you can "light" any aquarium with sunlight only (ocean) but not only will you get excess amounts of algae, but you would get no color out of your corals (so why would you want to???)
just my .02
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
Unless I am missing something in my last chemistry class, how does sunlight add phosphates? Yes, sunlight has a different spectrum (a more complete spectrumin some cases), but that in and of itself does not create phosphates and algae growth. One may consider the different light not as appealing in bringing out the minute colors of the coral but thats why one supplements with PC lighting. Limit the nutrients and you limit algae, plain and simple.
YellowDesmo998
Premium Member
I'm going to have to disagree with you clownin. I have been to facilities that use natural sunlight exclusively for a portion of their frag tanks as well as part of their curing vats for LR and for fully cured LR that is covered in coralline and not a spec of nuisance algae to be found.
It's Dr Mac Corals (http://www.drmaccorals.com) who is also a sponsor here. His facilities are by far the cleanest and most up to date facility I've ever seen. Going to his shop is more like entering a laboratory then a coral farm. By the way he is the only certified aquaculture facility in Maryland.
I believe direct sunlight can facilitate nuisance algae if the water quality permits it. If all parameters are correct sunlight shouldn't have a negative affect.
It's Dr Mac Corals (http://www.drmaccorals.com) who is also a sponsor here. His facilities are by far the cleanest and most up to date facility I've ever seen. Going to his shop is more like entering a laboratory then a coral farm. By the way he is the only certified aquaculture facility in Maryland.
I believe direct sunlight can facilitate nuisance algae if the water quality permits it. If all parameters are correct sunlight shouldn't have a negative affect.
clowninaround74
New member
ok well all i can say is good luck with lighting your tank with sunlight. I guarantee you will have heat fluxes and have a difficult time with a tank that small. I personally would not try it but whatever.
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
Dang it yellowdesmo! Why did you not tell me earier about drmac when I lived in NoVA! Dang it! I would have been worth the drive and traffic, oh well.
Back to the tread, temp is likely to be an issue but it always it. My MH light up my 20+20 more than the sun ever could, but just find a nice high quality heater to prevent dropping temps. If the tank gets too hot, just shade if for parts ofthe day.
Like any tank, the sunlit pic is going to have its own unique challenges, but I believe all are 'easily' dealt with "easily" being a relative term. But 18 years of experience should allow you to be successful as long as it has you attention.
Back to the tread, temp is likely to be an issue but it always it. My MH light up my 20+20 more than the sun ever could, but just find a nice high quality heater to prevent dropping temps. If the tank gets too hot, just shade if for parts ofthe day.
Like any tank, the sunlit pic is going to have its own unique challenges, but I believe all are 'easily' dealt with "easily" being a relative term. But 18 years of experience should allow you to be successful as long as it has you attention.
Rosseau
New member
I say it can be done.... I've seen people do it, search around on google.
Also aquariums, often have outdoor open top tanks that do really well. They don't require any other special equipment either I believe.
Hawaii I know has at least one like this.
Sunlight may allow a greater range of organisms to grow, those which can't under the spectrum of bulbs.. but, go for it!
Also aquariums, often have outdoor open top tanks that do really well. They don't require any other special equipment either I believe.
Hawaii I know has at least one like this.
Sunlight may allow a greater range of organisms to grow, those which can't under the spectrum of bulbs.. but, go for it!
YellowDesmo998
Premium Member
He just recently opened his facility to the public. It was mail order exclusively up until a year ago. You would have LOVED IT! I highly recommend ANYONE heading to Ocean City to stop by his shop. It's less then a mile off of I-50 before getting to the Salisbury Bypass.
tinyreef
New member
sunlits are definitely possible and frankly preferable imo. the phytoplankton generated aids the entire food web.
the issue with sunlit picos is the temperature variations and adjusting the aquascape for an angled light source (if you use a ordinary window). in a larger nano or setup with a sump, the temperature can be controlled easier if you limit the sunlit portion to a pico-size and the rest to a larger sump/volume.
sunlight provides the most optimal lighting ime. you're able to "get away" with a much less photoperiod (optimal lighting occurs for only a few hours of the day) versus our typical artifically lit 6~12 hour periods.
the issue with sunlit picos is the temperature variations and adjusting the aquascape for an angled light source (if you use a ordinary window). in a larger nano or setup with a sump, the temperature can be controlled easier if you limit the sunlit portion to a pico-size and the rest to a larger sump/volume.
sunlight provides the most optimal lighting ime. you're able to "get away" with a much less photoperiod (optimal lighting occurs for only a few hours of the day) versus our typical artifically lit 6~12 hour periods.
Butchdawg14
In Memoriam
in a perfect world the sun would be out every day for at least a couple of hours, i know it is not out everyday where i live. what happens when the sun is not out????
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
dawg, true, the sun will not be out every day but even in cloudy conditions, natural light is more intense than artificial light. People can be sunburned when there is an overcast. As long as there isnt long term eclipses or sulfur bocking out the sun then the tank should be fine even with a couple of cloudy days. If you are still worried about not having enough light, you can always add some supplement light.
Butchdawg14
In Memoriam
oh ok i was just making a statement.....i dont have a pico and i am not going to run my tank by sunlight either. i think it looks cooler with some ballin lights in there. sunlight doesnt make it glow and whatnot but thats all im saying but thanks for the advice..
tinyreef
New member
unlit days are going to happen, i did run a sunlit pico (for NR's 2.5g pico contest last year). i had periods of a couple of days without much light, i.e. overcast but then i had days of blaring light from the sky and the snow.
but by and large for most days, my high intensity light was only for the late midday hours (i'm located in NJ). i also had the misfortune of an odd shaped house/placed window so that half of the afternoon sun was blocked.
but the tank fluorished imo. you can see it from start to finish on the contest thread (still up although i dismantled the tank 6-mos. after the contest). i grew single or couple of polyp frags into whole colonies, soft and stony. so i know for a fact it can be done, it was the basis for me to even try the whole contest the year before (2005). i think it can be done pretty easily too (i'm a very lazy reefer). so if i can do it, anyone can do it. :lol:
but by and large for most days, my high intensity light was only for the late midday hours (i'm located in NJ). i also had the misfortune of an odd shaped house/placed window so that half of the afternoon sun was blocked.
but the tank fluorished imo. you can see it from start to finish on the contest thread (still up although i dismantled the tank 6-mos. after the contest). i grew single or couple of polyp frags into whole colonies, soft and stony. so i know for a fact it can be done, it was the basis for me to even try the whole contest the year before (2005). i think it can be done pretty easily too (i'm a very lazy reefer). so if i can do it, anyone can do it. :lol:
Butchdawg14
In Memoriam
where is that thread at so i can see it??
Poorcollegereef
Future Doc
interresting tiny, I would love to try a 20gal sunlit tank in a sunroom but my apt is on the NE face of the building, but it keeps some cooling costs down. Anyways I would also like to see pics of the tank if you have them/ Thanks!
tinyreef
New member
we can't directly link, right? (if we can, i'll write it in)
it's in the contest sub-forum on nano-reef.com. under the 2.5g pico contest sub-forum (there's currently three listed, nanocube, pico, and the current 2006 contest).
i'm under the same user name there, tinyreef.
it goes from startup (looks very bare :lol: ) to fully grown in about 6-months later. basically weekly updates as we went along, wasn't necessary to be so but i wanted to see the progress myself. going into it i wasn't sure it would even work. (i thought it'd end up all brownish and light-starved)
it's in the contest sub-forum on nano-reef.com. under the 2.5g pico contest sub-forum (there's currently three listed, nanocube, pico, and the current 2006 contest).
i'm under the same user name there, tinyreef.
it goes from startup (looks very bare :lol: ) to fully grown in about 6-months later. basically weekly updates as we went along, wasn't necessary to be so but i wanted to see the progress myself. going into it i wasn't sure it would even work. (i thought it'd end up all brownish and light-starved)
tinyreef
New member
duh, imastupid. i just remembered i had uploaded a couple of pics in my gallery (very low res crappy pics though).
the key for my setup was the canopy. i went thru 3~4 different formats. i'm not very diy-able so some look less than pretty.
but they all did the job: kept the evaporation low, bubble splash from the ugf in, and sunlight thru the top.
the key for my setup was the canopy. i went thru 3~4 different formats. i'm not very diy-able so some look less than pretty.
but they all did the job: kept the evaporation low, bubble splash from the ugf in, and sunlight thru the top.I'm also keeping sunlit (supplemented by PC when not enough sun) 10g nano and ~5g pico, for an year now. Toronto, southern window, 1 ft from window. From what I had read on orchids forum, NY has very similar sun lighting to Toronto.
The two main problems: temperature spike in sunny clear day - you need to be present there to shade it or turn on fan, in cloudy days PC light will be all day long. The second problem - aquascaping: you have to have LR for biofiltration, and the corals should be faced window, not room, equipment also is usually on the back wall - it should be placed on the side wall, for not blocking light.
The two main problems: temperature spike in sunny clear day - you need to be present there to shade it or turn on fan, in cloudy days PC light will be all day long. The second problem - aquascaping: you have to have LR for biofiltration, and the corals should be faced window, not room, equipment also is usually on the back wall - it should be placed on the side wall, for not blocking light.
