New 240 in progress - Planning stages.....implementation

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dvups1

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[OK. I am off and running on my new 240. I ripped out the sheet rock in the garage and 2 small storage closets. One of the closets housed my water heater. The water heater will be relocated and a utility basin will be installed in it's place. The room that is to enclose the tank will measure approx. 13' x 7' and a 6" a/c duct will be spliced in from the house's central air. I have a pretty good idea as to the plumbing and electrical components of the system but I keep stumbling over the lighting. I am torn between Icecap's new 250w MH ballast that runs any bulb and natural sunlight. I have a chance to install Sun Pipe over the tank aand never have to change a bulb or pay for electrical costs of MH again. The only problem is I hate being a pioneer. I have never seen a naturally lit tank before.

Tell me what you would do. Would you go for it?]
 
[I've read about this being considered before. The problem you may discover is you will not be providing 10 to 12 hours of light a day via the Sun Pipe. However, your plan for a softie tank may negate the need for super lighting, compared to SPS.

You may need to have both, so you can supplement the daylight with your own lights as needed. Maybe you'll only need them for 2 or 3 hours a day, or on days when it is extremely dark/overcast.]
 
[As Marc said, a combimation of halides plus the pipe would be the best. When I worked at the DWA the tunnel tank got natural sunlight (albeit through UV plexiglass) from a big skylight for a few hours a day and really didn't do the job very well IMO. Of course we didn't have a pipe that might prolong the intensity for hours either. Are you able to point the pipe to the South? That might give you a better shot at it working. You can always try and see if it works and then have the option of adding lighting later. What are the pipes costing these days, $200 or less?

OTOH, my tanks in the sunroom get a few hours of afternoon sunlight in the summer through glass and look great when lit this way. I guess it all depends on how much light transmission you get from the pipes. I was never really impressed by the ones I saw in the past. They seem to degrade the intensity somewhat.]
 
[The pipes would run an average of $480 each and they can be directed to absorb and channel as much light from the south as possible. There would be no UV filter on the tubes. According to the manufacturer, the material the pipe is made from is highly reflective and 95% or better light transfer is to be expected.]
 
[I have two of these in my living room, they do concentrate the light and are very bright, but like marc sid they would need some other type of lighting to carry the load on overcast days.

Sometimes they are so bright I wish there was a switch for them :cool grin:]
 
[I am not too concerned about the overcast days. I mean, I'm sure it gets overcast out over the reefs of the world.

marine-noob, how bright would you say they are? What brand of tubes are they?]
 
[OK looks like the natural light thing is out of the question. Oh well.

Anybody have experience with surge devices?]
 
@bulldogger1 wrote:
[OK looks like the natural light thing is out of the question. Oh well. Anybody have experience with surge devices?] said:
[what happened that blew the natural light thing out of the water?]
Click to expand...
 
[I have built some Carlson surges up to 55 gallon. A lot of fine bubbles occur during the surge. There is a reverse Carlson design going around that is suppossed to eliminate the bubbles, but more difficult to build. I prefer using the Tunze streams actually. Less noise and room taken up. For a 240, there is nothing better IMO.

Why did you forget about natural light?]
 
[In Ultimate Marine Aquarium book, pg 147 describes a Solar Success bank utilizing light chimney. Owner really likes how natural light produced pheonomenal growth with euphyllia and Hydnophora.]
 
[There are a couple of reasons the natural light is out. The uncertainty of it's appearance and is my major concern. I don't want to spend $1600 and not like what I see. Also the manufacturer said he could provide me with a specially made dome that would not contain any UV filters. The bad part of that is it dramatically reduces the life of the dome. Without the UV coating the dome will become very brittle and won't hold up very well during rough weather such as hail. I am following a thread on Reef Central that is about this very subject. If someone could post some convincing pictures of a naturally lit tank I could be swayed. For now I am on schedule for artificial light.

This is the surge device I am going ot build. It boasts absolutely no bubbles.Surge device]
 
[Sorry you couldn't make it work, but it seems that there were too many negatives. I especially like your thoughts on the hail. :D


The surge device looks interesting. I remember at MACNA that Scott from SWP had one made for his display tank and flooded the floor several times. It also used the motorized ball valves. This design probably worked out the bugs.

Good luck!]
 
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