natural sunlight

[jeredh]

I guess this is as good a place as any to make this post. First I reckon you phine folks can comment on my tank setup. It's a second-owner 56 gallon tub. The 2nd owner (me) started it 10-08-2003. I started it with aggregate sand and live sand - the right amount for my size tank. And, uh, a lot of live rock; Prizm protein skimmer, 175watt MH, two - 55w PC, empty two-35wPC, one rotating mp400 Maxi-Jet PH, one Rio 600 PH. I did some things not so by the book. Well here goes...it all started with a layer of live sand which was cleansed pretty intricately with a strainer, all of the agg-sand, then more layers of live sand. First put in 12lb's LR with about 15lb's BaseRock. Turned all PHeads on, 100w thermo', skimmer -> let this run for 7 days with light cycle as such: 6pm-1am 55w blue PC along with 7pm-12am MH, and some moderate natural sunlight between 8am-4pm.
Then added recommend Bacter Viral to add conditioning agents. After about three weeks, added another 30lb's of Fiji and marshall LR. Same light cycle. Around the 4th week I added a startup kit (snails, crabs, skrimps). Around the 5th week I added a FireFish Goby and one lonely Percula Clown. Around the 6th week I started adding Calcium conditioner (added Calcium). I clean the reservoir of the protein skimmer weekly (it develops a nice green deposit and bubbles are swell. I'm now going on my 8th week, and have bought my first coral. It's a rock w/ some mushrooms and those zoo? things on them. My local reef store has told me my pH, alk, nit's are all fine, and my calcium is up. I feed the tank daily with a nice mix of flake foods (from local reef-heads); and check the water weekly.
My question to you peeps, is how do you fell about the natural sunlight that my tank gets? Some topics of discussion might be NL (natural light) intensity and it's effects, how do certain coral or fish like NL, effect of NL on corals.
Here a few pics of the tank in broad daylight. Oh, and my dog Schepp. Schepp likes to watch the tank as much as his dad does!
(quick note: imagine the amount of light that the left side of the tank gets when sun is at full exposure)

 

[jeredh]

Here's a 2nd pic so the LR formation can be seen. Anyone have any comments one what corals do well with natural sunlight???

 

[calvindo]

imo, leaving your tank next a window is a big mistake. natural sunlight will give you algea problem.

 

[nm reef]

Just a couple of things...did you test and monitor your levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate during your cycle? What type tests did you use? Are you confident the system has properly cycled?
What are you adding to raise calcium? Do you test and monitor alkalinity as well as PH? All three inter act to maintain proper levels.
Natural sunlight can and will contribute to excess algae growth and for the most part it is avoided...especially to excess...and it sounds like yours may be getting excessive amounts.
Last question...what are the recent test results for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/calcium/alkalinity/PH...those levels need to be carefully considered prior to adding any coral under any lighting.

 

[shine~on]

I agree there ^^
But in my experience I would stay away from the direct sunlight as I got a nasty algae problem.

 

[bang guy]

In the winter I have a small portion of my display tank lit by natural sunlight for an hour or two. The corals in that location THRIVE.
I would be more concerned with heat issues than algae problems cause by natural sunlight. If you have algae problems it's probably a nutrient problem... not a lighting problem.

 

[fender]

I have a corner of my tank that gets hit with morning sunlight for about 3 hours. Algae growth there is a little heavier but not excessive. As far as heat goes, the halide comes on long after the 3 hours window so the tank stays consistant in temp.
A LFS not too far from me has their coral tanks outside in a green house and uses sunlight and halides, but they also have some huge lagoon style setups. No excessive algae growth.

 

[michelle13]

In my opinion I don't think sunlight causes excess algae growth. Mine gets about 3 hours of direct sunlight from my front door every day and I don't have a problem. Just a sidenote, the majority of the tanks at the Waikiki Aquarium in Hawaii are open on top and recieve all light from the sun, they have no excess algae and their corals are the biggest and healthiest I've ever seen.

 

[dattong]

Take a look at this guy's tank. It's a gorgous tank using sunlight as additional source of light so he can reduce his electricity bill. I've seen it in person
http://www.exoticreefs.us/reefflat/front.htm

 

[jeredh]

The tank was inherited from a friend, and it was completely emptied before it left his house, including a hose down. A wet live sand was used in conjuction with the argonite (for my sanity sake I'll pay a visit to my local store and check the bags). On last weekends test of the water (using Red Sea Marine Lab and Calcium Pro kits), my results were
pH 8.4
Nitrate low 2.5/high12.5
Nitrite 0.05
Ammonia 0.15ppm
Calcium 430ppm
and
Alkalinity fell in upper normal range
To raise calcium, I have ReefPure's Concentrated Calcium Supplement (in total, over the last 10 days I have added 15ml).
My worries now are solely on the sunlight. I have put a monster curtain over the french doors that lead outside my house, and i am religiously closing the curtain to keep the direct sunlight of the early morning hours from hitting the tank. This in itself will be an experiement for me. I'll keep my thoughts on this thread alive.
I've invested in a small chunk of LR, which came with a zooanthid and a red mushroom polyp on it. I'm feeling that the red mushrooms aren't keeping well - they are flat-lying on the rock.

 

[jeredh]

I have been monitoring my tank for the last several days. Specifically in the early early morning hours, just before sunrise, I close the drapes on the windows so no sunlight hits the tank. This morning, I kept the drapes shut, but slowly let some light into my tank.
After 15 minutes of getting sunlight to my red mushroom and zooanthid cluster, I noticed that not only did the zooanthids open up and say AHHHHHHHHHH, but the red mushrooms stud up and really wanted the natural sunshine.
I have never seen the shrooms stand up on end like they did with natural sunlight. I have 2x55wPC and 175wMH. The artificial light never, ever makes the shrooms stand up.
Note, beginning two days ago, I began adding live phytoplankton food supplement to the tank.
Thoughts?

 

[ajroc31]

natural sunlight has to come from the top of the tankand not the sides or front

 

[ajroc31]

The glass will eliminate large amount of it. And sunlight on the glass will create a perfect spot for algea to grow. So i guess spectrum is spectrum, but algea is algea.

 

[tony detroit]

Unless you have heating issues or nocturnal fish sunlight isn't necessarily bad. You most likely will have algae blooms if you have nutrients to fulfill them. As far as for the corals, sunlight can only help IMO.

 

[huckleberry]

the natural sunlight doesnt' heat your water?
cute dog by the way...
my dog, jenny, a chocolate lab, loves to watch my tank too!