how much will sunlight mess with my fish room?
- Thread starter High Plains Reefer
- Start date
From what I understand, this can cause your algae issues to become much worse since sunlight is full spectrum. Algae grows best with a redder spectrum of light then what is normal for the bulbs used over aquariums. It is this spectrum that causes the best growth in nuisance algae, and is to be avoided if possible.
This can be even more problematic if you are not doing everything else needed to control normal algae issues, i.e. low phosphates, low nitrates, etc.
This can be even more problematic if you are not doing everything else needed to control normal algae issues, i.e. low phosphates, low nitrates, etc.
Ya know...I noticed that when I was over there and was going to mention it. 
You may want to get something to cover the windows. There are a few spots where the sun peaks past my blinds in the morning and hits my tank... algae is definitely growing in those spots. Nutrient levels do make a difference...my nanocube was hit by the sun but never really had issues. Getting some blinds could definitely help clear up the water while the tank cycles though; until your bacteria population catches up algae can be pretty opportunistic and thrive with that sunlight.
You may want to get something to cover the windows. There are a few spots where the sun peaks past my blinds in the morning and hits my tank... algae is definitely growing in those spots. Nutrient levels do make a difference...my nanocube was hit by the sun but never really had issues. Getting some blinds could definitely help clear up the water while the tank cycles though; until your bacteria population catches up algae can be pretty opportunistic and thrive with that sunlight.
It is true that sunlight puts out lots of yellow, green and red light that most algae really likes. If you are running LEDs with white chips, then you are already using way more red, green and yellow that people using other types of lighting. IMO, it does not matter.
I have sunlight hit my tank for a few hours every morning in the summer with no bad consequences.
Does the room get hot with the sun shining in? Temp would be my only concern.
I have sunlight hit my tank for a few hours every morning in the summer with no bad consequences.
Does the room get hot with the sun shining in? Temp would be my only concern.
I dunno about that...toss a PAR meter in the path of the direct sunlight and see what kind of values you get. Filtered or indirect sunlight might be less of an issue but light directly hitting the tank will definitely exceed what any of our lighting puts out...unless you are measuring LEDs right at the surface.
I accidentally left my blinds open one weekend a while back; the filtered light hitting my nanocube ended up being a shaft of direct light for a few days. That light hit an acan and smoked 5 heads in that short amount of time. :/ If there is light "bouncing" into the fish room that's one thing...but if the south facing window allows direct light to pass through I'd be concerned. I played with a PAR meter and saw levels of 800-1200 coming through my south facing window and hitting my tank...prompted me to get some blinds and turned the corner on some algae issues I was having in my 20 a while back.
I accidentally left my blinds open one weekend a while back; the filtered light hitting my nanocube ended up being a shaft of direct light for a few days. That light hit an acan and smoked 5 heads in that short amount of time. :/ If there is light "bouncing" into the fish room that's one thing...but if the south facing window allows direct light to pass through I'd be concerned. I played with a PAR meter and saw levels of 800-1200 coming through my south facing window and hitting my tank...prompted me to get some blinds and turned the corner on some algae issues I was having in my 20 a while back.
These corals can all live in tanks outside under the direct sunlight. PAR in the south pacific is around 2500, depending on the cruddy par meter being used. The kind of light that we are talking about through double pane glass, argon, etc. is minimal compared to nature. The sun shines into my SPS tank every morning in the summer for 4 hours with no issues whatsoever. If you are worried, then get some blinds, but I don't think that it matters one bit.
I have an acan dedicated tank right in front of a window that had gotten only natural sunlight for the past 3 months. Scans look amazing and corals are perfect. I don't skim and have barely and any macro algea. When I say that the acans and favia I have in that tank have better color than comparable ones in my DT, I'm not kidding. I supplement towards the evening with leds. When sunlight no longer hits. Alll tanks in my fish room get natural light and algae isn't an issue whatsoever.
