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View Full Version : Does anyone have systems lit by sunlight in BC?


Ryan7
08-09-2011, 07:20 PM
Looking for experienced info on tanks that are lit by our natural sunlight in BC, how much sun the tank gets per day, and how different corals react to it?

imisky
08-09-2011, 07:41 PM
from having thought about this before, and doing a bit of research, BC/ most of the northern/ southern hemisphere isnt suitable for natural sunlight tanks without some form of artifical lighting suppliment especially in the fall/winter/spring seasons.

In BC as far as I see it we only have 2 seasons, summer, winter. once winter hits we get 90% cloudy days vs 10% which is a mix of barely any sun + clouds. Add that with the super short daylight hour and you have yourself a very unhappy reef system that doesnt receive enough light to keep the corals growing/ coloring up properly. The issue doesnt end there, during the summer time we get sun pretty much from 6am to 8-10pm which ends up photo inhibiting the corals and would have a pretty high chance of algae blooms once that happens due to the spectrum of the sun (could be avoided with the use of a few filters). It becomes quite tough to light a tank up here with the climate the way it is imo. hope that helps

dsaundry
08-09-2011, 07:46 PM
Living in Vancouver or for that matter just about anywhere in BC is probably not going to happen consistently enough for a sw tank. I suppose you could supplement regular lighting and maybe keep costs down a bit, or spend the big bucks on a high end led system . If we had sun hours like Mexico, Arizona, Spain...maybe, I have seen a few outdoor set ups in Europe, but an indoor set up with natural sunlight as the only set up in BC..don't think it would work.

Ryan7
08-09-2011, 10:39 PM
Thanks for your reply's, however, I think I should be more specific.

I am an advanced aquarist and I currently and purposely have set up a 220G reef under solarium style skylights with 2x 100w led eco cannons, I get natural sunlight across the tank for about 7-8 hours per day. I have no concern over algae, the purpose of the post is to gather others experience with our bc sunlight and different types of corals ect..

My experience with our summer sunlight is some corals are finding it too bright, as I expected. I would like to know what others with similar lighting setups have found? What corals love it, what corals may be finding it too much?

I know someone here has setup a greenhouse aquarium, hopefully this post find you.

Thanks,

LeeR
08-10-2011, 03:40 AM
get some shade cloth if its to bright.. i think you can even get it in blue.

oh and picture or its not real:biggrin:

imisky
08-10-2011, 04:29 AM
how long has this tank been running? would be interested to see pictures as well . Ive never heard of anyone attempting a sky light lite tank in the northern hemisphere due to the climate we get here. you have suppliment lighting so I think your fine and can see some benefit during summer times in that you wont really need the LEDs to be on at all. Im assuming during the other 3 seasons the LED is on as the main? and whatever light comes through the skylight is additional light.

In regards to what you are finding about our summer daytime hours, this is what i mean by photo inhibition, once the corals get enough light they literally stop utilizing it. Anything after that pretty much stresses them out and either causes them to bleach or turn brown (usually bleach). Some corals dont mind it at all, they'll soak up all the light you throw at them (figuratively). though there is a point in which all corals will stop utilizing the light available to them. and this is what i mean by algae could take hold, not always but there's a higher chance than compared to other sw lights we use.

Show us some pictures, I'd be really interested to see this project as it was something i was looking into.

EDIT: as for filters, you can grab blue filters from places like industrial plastics and or other plastic shops they would be able to get them in any gradient you want.

phi delt reefer
08-10-2011, 10:39 AM
green house supply/building companies sell the shade cloth you are looking for.

MKLKT
08-10-2011, 04:40 PM
My tank is essentially back-lit with natural sunlight for a few hours during the day. Doesn't contribute nuisance algae, but it hasn't had an appreciable effect on coral growth that I can tell. You'd need the light to probably come from straight above to be most effective/not passing through glass if possible to avoid it filtering.

TimT
08-11-2011, 06:06 AM
I've had tanks in a Greenhouse from 2000 to 2005, then in 2005 I moved into a large shop with 4'w x 5'h south facing windows. Half of the tank now gets direct sunlight all day. I supplement the tank with 800watt of 20k radium. When the sun is shining it totally eliminates the halides. Even a cloudy day overpowers the halides. SPS grows fast but not too colourful. Zoos and Paly's do well, I have Fungia, Echinophyllia, Trachyphyllia, Duncanopsammia in the sunlit area as well.

Do be concerned about macro algae as it grows so fast it strips the CO2 out of the water.

Ryan7
08-15-2011, 06:43 PM
I will get some pics soon for those interested.

mike31154
08-15-2011, 07:42 PM
Interested for sure. Plenty of sun in the Okanagan in the summer time. No good for winter maybe, but any supplementation should be a good thing. Can't get more natural than natural. I've been contemplating a Sola Tube or two.

Lampshade
08-15-2011, 09:19 PM
I've looked a lot at those light tunnel things, seems like it could be doable. You are pretty much focusing the light. would be interesting on a bigger scale.http://www.velux.ca/consumer/products/sun_tunnel_skylights/

but... solar power LED system might be cheaper:P

KevinK
08-15-2011, 09:59 PM
I've looked a lot at those light tunnel things, seems like it could be doable. You are pretty much focusing the light. would be interesting on a bigger scale.http://www.velux.ca/consumer/products/sun_tunnel_skylights/

but... solar power LED system might be cheaper:P



solar power LED is still at the $$$, I'm slowly converting my tank to solar

se pumps, when buying the right once only consume lets say 15W each x 5 = 75w a houre = 1.8 KWH a day

a 500 watt pannel will on avarage produce 3.7 times its wattage, so 1.85 KWH a day ore 485 KWH a year.

now the thing is that this is a avarage, and duuring peek season it is pushing 5.8 KWH, but in the 4 winter months in Victoria it might only be 1.7 kwH.

in order to run a tank, you need $$$$ to get all solar as a 500W kit already will run you about $2.500

and gust for fun:

a 200 LED tank at 8 houre lights on = 4.8 KWH at $2.500 for 500W this will be $24.000

ohhh and no battery yet inclouded

and if hydro would be $ 0.10 a kwh, than a 500W system of $2.500 would take you 51 years to pay back, and than still, NO battery.

this is where I would say, things in the world still need to change a bit

if the price development of solar would be the same as LED, than you would se the price go way down for solar, but no
a CREE LED was 2 years ago $9.00, now when keeping your eyes open, you could get them for $ 3.70

solar is now as pricy as it was 5 years ago, so unless there are grants, ther are no savings, exept your pride of making a change




on the end, if the tubes could work, only if it was to light 50% of your tank, than you save already big time as 2x 12 inch solar tubes willl run you about $500, replacing 2- 250W MH at 8 houre it is 4 kwh x 364 x 0.10 a kwh = $145 saved a year, payback = 3 1/2 year not considdering the saving on bulbs, so maybe a 3 MH with 2 solar tubes is interesting

mike31154
08-16-2011, 07:08 AM
Won't be too long and the payback will be faster. BC Hydro is on the prowl to crank up rates. Once all the smart meters are installed, they will also be looking to bring in tiered rates, charging more for daytime KWh, so those of us running the big lights during the day (which probably most of us do) will take an extra hit. Retailers & gov'ts are really dragging their feet with regard to promoting LED lighting for home use. Seems they're hanging on to the CFL schtick, which when you think about the huge numbers of fluorescents out there now, with the mercury in them, is really not a good thing. I guess it's not that much mercury in each bulb, but as heavy metals go, mercury is one of the most evil as far as health concerns go, and it does add up.

KevinK
08-16-2011, 03:09 PM
Won't be too long and the payback will be faster. BC Hydro is on the prowl to crank up rates. Once all the smart meters are installed, they will also be looking to bring in tiered rates, charging more for daytime KWh, so those of us running the big lights during the day (which probably most of us do) will take an extra hit. Retailers & gov'ts are really dragging their feet with regard to promoting LED lighting for home use. Seems they're hanging on to the CFL schtick, which when you think about the huge numbers of fluorescents out there now, with the mercury in them, is really not a good thing. I guess it's not that much mercury in each bulb, but as heavy metals go, mercury is one of the most evil as far as health concerns go, and it does add up.


regarding hydro price.

I Know I could not afford a reef tank where I came from, In Holland, when we left 5 years ago the KWH price for hydro was 0.24 euro + 0.08 euro enviromental tax + 19% call it HST totalling and than I'm forgetting something becouse I know it was like 0.42 euro cents a KWH, thats a wopping $ 0.57 canadian dollar a KWH

regarding the BC hydro, what can I say, thy call it a upgrade of a damm as it is in need of drastick maintanance and repair, I call it miss managment, the day you build something, you should know that maintanance and repairs need to be dun eventually, so put each day a few $ aside, and when time comes get the $$$ out and do it, no thy start krying about shortages becouse there dam ore whatever thy need to do, needs to be dun.

say my roof is replaced, and would cost $ 15.000, I know I have to spend this again 20 to 30 years down the road(unless you would move)


regarding the bulbs,

so far it is to cry for, there is no promotion of inovation here, and now I'm not complaining about things, as we love it here in Canada, and would not want to go back to Holland, but CFL was common practice 15 years ago, if not 20 years already.

now the goverment wants to say thy are doing the right thing, but really, thy are 15 to 20 years behind.

thy should promote the LED future, as we all know the CFL is gust a step in the middle.

thing is that even the LED bulbs are shamly $$$$, a 3 watt bulb will run you over $20 at the HD ore anywhere ells, where as at for instance deal extream, it is shipped to your door for $ 4.50

again, we, at least I want to do my share, but not at $20 a bulb, prices are kept arteficially high.

over all major shifts are on its way in the years to come, but the only thing I can say is that you should not follow the flow and gust beleave whatever somone tells you to do, becouse it is good, lock into things a bit (like the LED bulbs) VS CFL, and you will se that there is mony to be saved, even only when buying.



regarding smart meter, 2 tear billing, also this is not new (maybe the smart meter) but not the 2 tear billing, I know as a little guy, mam always had the loundry in the dryer over night, becouse that was 1/2 the cost of duuring the day

Lampshade
08-16-2011, 03:57 PM
Solar will have to come a long way to be worth it here. As for the hydro thing, don't want to make this a big electricity debate, but...
http://www.hydroquebec.com/residential/comparaison/images/graph_indice_comparatif.gif
(it's from HydroQubec, BC's got one but doesn't list as many)
And as Kevin said, .57 is pretty normal in Europe, which is double anything shown here.

as for the rate increase,it's now only 16%,so pretty cheap.

http://www.bchydro.com/news/articles/conservation/2011/government_review_message.html

tang daddy
08-16-2011, 10:08 PM
Wow this thread turned into quite a debate over electricity and how much it costs in Europe and Canada....

I don't exactly know if you're going to find the answers you're looking for Matt truthfully because most of us on the wet coast don't run sunlit tanks.
My reef tank gets some morning sun as it sits close to the window however the sun is barely on the tank, at most it gets about 1/2 to 45mins of exposure.

Your tank gets more of the direct afternoon to evening sun and it maybe too strong for some of the lps corals. Your best option is to get some type of retractable cloth or shade for those really sunny days, I am sure the more milder days where there is light but no sun you could run it without the shade.

With the summer season coming to an end it would be a good time to see how well the sps and other softies do throughout the winter months. Also as I suggested before try to post on rc to see if there is anyone near BC like in Seattle or Oregon that may be doing the same as you.