Solar tube lights?

[rawley2]

Have any of you tried them?

I'm in the process of building a 4' deep tank and wonder if they would be as good as burning $150 a month of electricity with MH bulbs. LOL

I was thinking about bringing 5 of them through the roof and replacing the standard ceiling diffuser with the clear one used on the roof side.

My tank will have cabinets all the way to the ceiling for the lights anyway so having these inside that would not be a problem or unsightly.

I could also have a few MH for cloudy days but wonder if that would even be necessary. There are cloudy days in real life. Plus I'm in Florida so there is more sun that clouds. LOL

Opinions? Advice?

[Reefinator]

Wow, that sounds like a great idea and a "green" alternative to reef lighting! I'm gonna tag along on this thread and see what others think. Nice thinking out of the box though!

[Reefinator]

I kow some of those soalr tubes have light options as well for cloudy days/nightime. I wonder if a MH or maybe PC could be retrofit inside the tube for maintenance or extra lighting?

[Hardhead Cat]

I've never even considered this before, but it sounds like a great idea to me! As long as you can control the light (shades?) if you have algae bloom or something from all the sunlight....

HHC

[rawley2]

You can control the light. You can install an electric baffle for board rooms or home theaters. If the cost for the electric ones are crazy I could install a manual shade or something like that.

I was also looking at light meters : http://www.testproducts.com/safecart...roducts_id=414

That one has an RS-232 output so it can be hooked up to turn on MH bulbs on cloudy days as supplemental light.

I know someone with one of these in their bathroom. It's extremely bright. I may buy a light meter (off eBay for now) and see if they will let me take the diffuser off it and get a reading when the sun is out and again when it's cloudy. That will give me a better idea how much light comes through them. The manufacturers claim as much as 98%.

Even if I still have to run MH bulbs all the time it would only be supplemental and not close to the amount I would need without them.

I think I have pretty much sold myself on this idea but would love to hear from someone who has allready tried it or seen it done. LOL

[Reefinator]

You may be the first! The solar reef pioneer ! Make sure you document your build with lots of pictures for those of us who have to live vicariously...like me.

[Hop]

There are a handful that post here and there over the years. The one really successful one I remember seeing a few years back had to move, but the new owners wanted to keep the tank. He used 4 of the 2'(I think) tubes over an 8' tank. he also had VHO supplementation for when he was viewing as the light was really yellow looking.

[Loverotties]

Wonder with a heat isue in the summer time?

[motorslave]

I have one in my house. There is no heat issue with it in the summer, and here, everything is a heat issue in summer! (115 is normal) Its been done and with success. I wouldn't worry about supplementing the light on cloudy days, the ocean doesn't have a backup and does fine! Personally, I would consider the tube as supplement lighting and have regular lighting designed in. This allows more options for the tank and what is aesthetically appealing to you

[Jnicho]

I have seen pics of an installation with this done...I'll have to see if I can find it...it was pretty cool.

[Jnicho]

Can't seem to find it. It was really cool though. He had used some type of metal (look like brushed stainless) bezels. They looked like large can lights, except they had solar tubes above providing the light.

[rawley2]

Well first I need to say this.. Wow this forum is better than the other salt water forum I have been posting questions on.. Treat a new guy like he has been here forever. Thanks ALL!!

Yellow light!! Now I know I need MH lights to get rid of that. If I do it correctly I hope I can get rid of the yellow and add appeal to the tank and keep the solar tube as my main light source.

My friend told me I could take his cover off and measure the light. His is only a small 6" tube but a little math should let me know what a 21" tube is capable of. Now I need to talk him into letting me bring a tank full of salt water into his bathroom to see how yellow it is. LOL

As far as the build. I have decided to document it on this forum instead of the other forum. I will start a new thread for it later today.

[motorslave]

Glad to have ya aboard! It will be a grat build thread nda good source of info for us all. Be sure to document everything about the tube lights. An to save you from the pic police, be sure to post lots of pictures!!!!

[jdhuyvetter]

I've got 4, 14-inch tubes on a 300 gallon tank. Corals responded immediately. PE is better than ever before. However, light is very yellow and corals tend to get a "suntan" (turn brown). Color is coming back though. I supplement with PC actinics. Purely for the visual effect.

[Geoff]

as you can see using natural sunlight is very possible using solar tubes. i was hoping to do this also, but ran out of time. when using sunlight you will need to watch your nutrient levels even more. since algae and corals have adapted to this spectrum any amount of phosphates in the system will quickly help out any algae and will also cause corals to brown out instead of maintaining their colours.

G~