I also was was curious about this topic.

I get the late afternoon sun that shines through my larger tank. I also noticed that my fish will cuddle in the sunlight spots and my anenome & polyp corals come right out. But I did notice a brown algae film that never came until the natural sunlight. The algae will form on my glass where the sun light shines through. So far it hasn't caused any problems though.

Lee,

Are you using tap or RO water? Tapwater might be the cause of the brown algae.

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:smile: Thats what I did also Danny.

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Doug, with this tank I'm trying to follow the KISS pricipal, so this really helps.

Lee, your tank is still very young just like mine. I think that a certain level of algae is normal until the bacteria that maintain it stablizes. I get brown algae on the sand and glass too, but coraline is starting to develope now....

yeah im pretty sure the ocean receives lots of natural sunlight so it's a healthy thing. there are outdoor reef setups at the waikiki aquarium that are lit by only the sun. im pretty sure that sunlight and algae are myth that jamie and adam should look into.

of course sunlight is good for your tank! what do ya think the MH lights are trying to mimic? :razz: nothing artificial can replace the sun IMO.

If i had the funds, i would build a skylight right over my tank, that would be awesome!

I've often wondered how a tank would look lit by 2-3 sunpipes. You might need supplemental lighting for dark days (although there are lots of cloudy days on the reef), or perhaps some actinics to increase the blue for visual preference. I believe I read somewhere that a single sunpipe can output the equivalent of 1500 watts or something to that effect. You would get a great shimmering effect I would bet as well :cool:

There's a thread on RC from last year or the year before where a guy was building a new house and incorporating 3 sola-tubes for lighting. Might be worth searching for if you're interested in that idea.

I recall reading that thread on RC sometime last year and was awaiting pictures from when he had completed the project. Now I can't seem to find the thread when I search :confused:

there was also one guy in that forum that converted his guest house to an office, and had a skylight right above the tank, it looked awesome under the sun. i believe he had to sell it all and move as soon as it was setup:(