Natural Sunlight

[hart24601]

Interesting thoughts shared. Perhaps we'll agree to disagree here.

There is no harm from sunlight and very likely benefit no matter what lat and longitude a person lives. The bleaching argument makes no sence, deepwater acros are maricultured alongside other acros. UC had a post discussing this.

Just to be clear, the OP isn't lighting the tank with sunlight only. There will be no browning of coral here.

Natural is and always will be 'in.' The arguement isn't if a glass box is natural.

No benefits to sunlight? For real? If kessils grew coral better than the sun coral farmers would take advantage of this so called supreme technology. Where does the term full spectrum even come from, the sun. Our lights are simply trying to balance coral health, growth, and aesthetically pleasing color.

Perhaps I need to clarify - bleaching is a risk if you have a tank set up for artificial light and you add sun. I run my acros at 600 PAR, the sunlight here is 1000 PAR right now give or take. If I was to just open up my windows those coral would have 1600 PAR on them if I do not turn off my lights. Since PAR should really be thought of as cumulative through the day even if I turn off my lights while the sun is shining I could exceed what coral can handle over the photo period if I run the lights at night or the morning. Now you have deep water acros or lps and while yes they can take some higher PAR that is a whole lot to throw at anything. We are not talking about a system that was specifically designed to use sunlight, we are talking about open an existing system to allow sunlight to hit it.

I am not a kessil fan, however you can't blanket say artificial light is worse than the sun for growing coral - a large argument to using the sun is economics - it's free.

If we get into the bleaching factor a bit more - we have very poor flow in our tanks compared to the ocean, high flow reduces the boundary layer of water which allows the coral to dissipate extra heat faster - and heat is how coral deal with excess illumination. We can already light our tanks to provide more energy than they get in nature, adding sunlight might not be the best idea. Look at the article to the Daily Light amount.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/9/aafeature

Not saying you can't supplement with sunlight but be aware of the challenges and don't think it's just an easy win.

 

[McMullen]

If you go outside and measure PAR you'll get incredible numbers. Open the blinds/curtains, let in sunlight, then take a PAR reading inside your tank.

I used Kessil as an example because it was mentioned.

Economics, yes, your correct, but my point is sunlight is better! If it wasn't a new plan would be implemented.

The heat argument doesn't hold water......get it.....doesn't hold water . Our tanks our maintained at fairly stable temps. This is just simple Physics with thermodynamics. Adding sunlight in some instances may increase heat but we are talking from a window, not solar tubes or in a green house. The reason tanks arnt lit by sunlight is because of logistics and ability to funnel and direct light. It's has nothing to do with too much PAR or heat.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

those coral would have 1600 PAR

Dana says higher pars increase coloration. And one thing I wanted to ask Him was, in a tide pool there's a lot more variation in parameters. stuff is rotting in the sand and it rains in Hawaii. a lot. so salinity is an issue not addressed.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

not solar tubes or in a green house. The reason tanks arnt lit by sunlight is because of logistics and ability to funnel and direct light.

Ive seen some Cool tanks with it though. and tanks lit with over 2000 par.

 

[mkj]

A little sun is fine but sunlight has a lot of variables that are difficult to keep adjusting on a daily schedule "intensity, time, heat, etc.". It can be done but who wants the headache? Tanks next to windows are harder to control then tanks in dark rooms. I'm sure an hour a day would be fine though. Tanks are NOT a natural environment and using natural light within an unnatural environment makes controlling that unnatural environment difficult. Every day has different light intensity and consistency. Unnatural light is more consistent and easier to adjust.

It's your tank, only you know what you can handle when it comes to maintenance.

 

[hart24601]

I will bow out of the conversation, I feel I made my points and do not need to argue them to death - it's really not a big deal to me. I will simply state be aware of potential problems - and use common sense if you see issues. I tend to shy away from conversations that are spoken in absolutes.

 

[McMullen]

Ive seen some Cool tanks with it though. and tanks lit with over 2000 par.

My dream tank is solar tubes supplemented with LED.

 

[McMullen]

A little sun is fine but sunlight has a lot of variables that are difficult to keep adjusting on a daily schedule "intensity, time, heat, etc.". It can be done but who wants the headache? Tanks next to windows are harder to control then tanks in dark rooms. I'm sure an hour a day would be fine though. Tanks are NOT a natural environment and using natural light within an unnatural environment makes controlling that unnatural environment difficult. Every day has different light intensity and consistency. Unnatural light is more consistent and easier to adjust.

It's your tank, only you know what you can handle when it comes to maintenance.

Yes. Logistics! Most of the population is not able to take advantage of sunlight without great great effort and high variability.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I will bow out of the conversation, I feel I made my points and do not need to argue them to death - it's really not a big deal to me. I will simply state be aware of potential problems - and use common sense if you see issues. I tend to shy away from conversations that are spoken in absolutes.

there's no absolutes for sure. That's why its a conversation To hear all sides and concerns.

this is well stated.

A little sun is fine but sunlight has a lot of variables that are difficult to keep adjusting on a daily schedule "intensity, time, heat, etc.". It can be done but who wants the headache? Tanks next to windows are harder to control then tanks in dark rooms. I'm sure an hour a day would be fine though. Tanks are NOT a natural environment and using natural light within an unnatural environment makes controlling that unnatural environment difficult. Every day has different light intensity and consistency. Unnatural light is more consistent and easier to adjust.

It's your tank, only you know what you can handle when it comes to maintenance.

My dream tank is solar tubes supplemented with LED.

Ill add some Mh's to that thanks.

 

[McMullen]

I will bow out of the conversation, I feel I made my points and do not need to argue them to death - it's really not a big deal to me. I will simply state be aware of potential problems - and use common sense if you see issues. I tend to shy away from conversations that are spoken in absolutes.

I love these debates! This leads to breakthroughs and dismantles dogma. The only absolute is that sunlight is superior. How we harness or attempt to harness brings the variables and 'issues.'

 

[reeftank220master]

There really isn't a reason to use sunlight consistently unless you're planning on decreasing your kessil's intensity- which as stated before, can lead to a decrease in coloration. On top of that, the weather isn't the most reliable thing in the world. One day it can be bright and sunny and your corals are nice and happy, but the next day its densely clouded and the tank receives only the lighting from your fixture.

Is it harmful to leave your curtains open every once in a while? No..
Are there benefits to using natural sunlight as a core light source over your kessils? Not really..

This is just my opinion, I see no reason to add another variable to our fragile ecosystems

That's crazy! Natural sunlight can not be duplicated by any man mad light...Most big city aquariums utilize natural light when ever possible also

 

[Reefrookie220]

Most home Windows filter out uv rays anyway, and aquariums definitely do.

Keep us updated, I'd like to see your results.

 

[Best Fish-Jake]

That's crazy! Natural sunlight can not be duplicated by any man mad light...Most big city aquariums utilize natural light when ever possible also

They use it for the cost effectiveness over those gigantic aquariums. I'm not saying LEDs are on the same level as the sun, but rather that in the average home reef system, stable light is better light.

 

[erk]

If I could install some of those light tubes like another forum member did, that would be the route I'd take to light my tank. Granted, you would need to choose corals that do well with high light and also try to keep nutrients limited to keep algae in control. If you have a big enough tank you could stock tangs to keep the algae under control. There is also the consideration that fast growing corals should probably be avoided as they would most likely become weeds with that much light. There is also the difficulty in mimicking a natural deep water environment versus the shallow tide pool.

Still, none of these things would stop me from going with a sunlit reef if I could.

 

[Donovan Joannes]

Indirect natural sunlight is not that intense unless it is reflected by shiny object into your aquarium. My LFS do have main DT at the entrance of his shop (with roller shutter wide opened) and was bombarded with direct sunlights early morning and it helps on coral growth and coloration. One thing for sure is algae film, but that can be controlled by lowering nutrients. One downside is no matter how bright and blue your LEDs are, it will appear very dim and slightly yellow throughout the day.

 

[Dilan Patel]

Well the tank is on the opposite side of the window. So it will get sunlight just it won't be directed into it with a tube.

 

[McMullen]

I'de do it!

 

[Donovan Joannes]

My tank received an hour of late evening indirect sunlight (12 feet away from window) and this is how it looks.

 

[Dilan Patel]

awesome tank...Im going to try it I guess it cannot hurt because the window is not super close to the tank. Really only gets sun in the morning to 3:00pm

 

[andrewkw]

I am really surprised to see so many comments against sunlight. I don't think I've shut the blinds once in the 8 months or so my reef has been setup at my new house. While I wouldn't go as far as to say the direct sunlight it gets drastically helps, it certainly doesn't hurt. I get a great deal of additional viewing time with the tank and a different sort of look.

I just took these photos with the sun still rising it will get a little brighter. I lost most of my livestock in my move last year however I still have a few nice pieces and as you can tell from the side shot I don't get any kind of significant algae growth on the glass and I am very happy with water clarity level. A wide variety of corals from sps frags to nps corals all look good in the sunlight. While the move was harsh on my livestock I am thrilled to have my display out of the basement and somewhere that gets lots of direct sunlight.

Bonus photo from my FOWLR on the other side of the house. It gets sunsets (and indirect sunlight for most of the day). I just run a par38 for a few hours so I can view at night but that tank with no corals doesn't even need a light. Look at the lion in the sunset...