Solar tube lights?

[mscottring]

Man, I wish I would have thought of this!

[OneDummHikk]

Solar lighting is awesome if its planned out properly. I want some if I ever get where I can have them.

[Doug1]

I think its a great idea, checking with a light meter is a really good idea, looking forward to the build
And Welcome to TRT

[Jnicho]

I did some research on "solatube" lighting a while back and still have some photos of installs I found...I know I had more than this, but here it what I found with a quick look through my files.

Probably my fav:


Unfinished, but you can see it's a lot of light:


This supplements with VHO:


Yes, those are solatubes, with diffusers:


And then this one is just crazy...this guy install a huge skylight above his tank:


and lined the hole it with mirror finish AL:


and checking the PAR:

[jdhuyvetter]

I've totally redone my system with the intention of streamlining the tanks (I had two saltwater tanks in different rooms) and adding solatubes as the final step. A brief timeline is listed below. Due to all of the changes, I have had some STN issues...big surprise there!

December (full moon) - Pocillipora spawning event, Montis tanked, Acros PO'd. I lost a handful of frags, but no colonies. About 10% loss on the colonies that were stressed. Took 2-3 weeks before the montis and acros bounced back.

Week between Christmas and New Years - I had swapped out the softie and freshwater tanks in November with the intention of plumbing the softie tank in to the main system. I tore down the old frag system and refugium and plumbed everything into the new system. Total plumbing and refugium overhaul. One colony showed some minor STN. All the frags were ticked off at being in a rubbermaid tub for 4 days.

January - collecting season on Sanibel. Added a couple of gorgonians and about 6 different sponges. All to the softie tank which is now part of the overall system. Lost a couple of sponges. During this time, one of my big colonies started to STN from the inside out. (No, I did not put 2 and 2 together) Three different collecting trips over a 5 weekend period.

February 12 - pulled the old light canopy and installed solar tubes.

February 14 - pulled the light diffusers and filters to improve the solar tubes

February 19 - added about 12 inches to each solartube and adjusted the angles for better light distribution in the tank.

February 21 - Got the Tunze going again (main circulation pumps in the main tank were off since Feb 12). During this time frame the main pump was running and a couple of small supplemental powerheads for water flow.

February 22 - Put the PC lights up.

February 28 - Changed 50% of the bulbs in the PC's to increase the amount of actinic. Added Erythremycin to the system to try to stop STN in 4 of my colonies.

March 14 - added two more Tunze 6100 and moved all to the back of the tank. Three are behind the rock. This required me to pull about 60 pounds of rock and soft corals out of the tank. Downside, made a mess. Upside, better flow behind the rock and more room for th SPS to grow.

March 21 - Added a wavebox. Liked it so much, I ordered one for the 150 softie tank.

With all of these changes is it any wonder why my Acros are STN? Although, it has slowed down and in some places stopped and new growth is showing.

I'll add some pics in a little while.

[jdhuyvetter]

OK, maybe not. New member and I only have three posts.....

[Doug1]

you should be able to use the attachment feature

[Doug1]

Jnicho, those look like they KICK serious light

[Salty O'Shen]

great thread!!!



although this is nowhere near possible in the house i currently own, since i'm going to sell it one day (dam housing bubble) i'm certainly going to look deeply into this concept for the new construction whenever the housing market straightens out...

PLEASE POST LOTS OF PICS OF YOUR BUILD!!!

and welcome to TRT, i agree this is a FABULOUS forum, have been happy since the day i found it, it's almost an obsession here now, great people and great advice without the attitude!!

[jdhuyvetter]

Can't post pics and they are too big for an attachment.

[superwizbang]

Google the free program Paint.Net, download, install and reduce those suckers. I wanna see your photos. Better yet, follow this link: http://www.getpaint.net/ The program is free with no nags and pretty powerful.

-Ken

[jdhuyvetter]

No go. Can't post links either. So, ask me some questions and get me to the 20 posts....

[aquawolf]

What is the approximate cost of one of the Solar Tubes?

[jdhuyvetter]

My total cost was around $4500. This included two solar powered attic vents. There were no vents on my roof. Also, I went with 14-inch tubes (4) and needed 21 feet of extra extension because the tank is under the peak of the roof. You can get 10-inch DIY kits from Lowes or Home Depot for less. I used a licensed solatube contractor to do my install. the solatube brand is thicker and stiffer than what I saw at HD. However, I don't know if that is because the brand is thicker or because the 14-inch is a thicker material than the 10-inch. I do like the solatube brand dome better than the HD dome.

Also, I wanted a licensed contractor to do the install. I have concrete tile roof and just didn't want to mess with that. Also, wanted the warranty on the install. If it leaks during hurricane season, I'm under warranty for 5 years!!!

If I had gone the DIY route with the HD tubes, my cost would have been around $2100 including the extra extensions that I needed. Definitely cheaper, but smaller tubes and no installation warranty. Also, that number does not included the two attic fans that I had installed. I never priced those at HD.

[AdamG]

very cool idea, I am tagging this as well!