SolaTubes for reef tanks

[8BALL_99]

Dont know I was at work at 12. The 200 Par though is with in 15-20" of the tubes you move down and the par drops. It was very nice to see that 500-800 right at the ends though lol. I would like to get around 300 to the bottom of the stand. I see what your saying though about the water acting as a lens itself. I plan on either extending the tubes or adding panels with mylar or something like it to the upper canopy at an angle to direct the light down. I'm still trying to decide how to finish it out. Right now I'm thinking that I'll add a 16" extension to the tubes and then maybe try to add a small flare to the end of the tubes to help direct the light down. I dont' want to bring the tubes down to close to the water because I like having easy access to work in the tank. My upper canopy is about 22" tall the lower is about 19" They overlap a couple inches so from the top of the tank to the bottom of the tubes I've got about 40". So even with the 16" extension Your still talking 24" away from the tank. So I think some kind of ring to reflect the light down would help. Ofcourse these things will be inside a canopy painted white and maybe even covered with reflective metal so most of the light has to go in the tank at some point.. The biggest concern I have with that is the back of the lower canopy is open the equipment room. About 15" worth.. Hope all that makes since its a little hard to explain.

[8BALL_99]

Hmm they make 24" extention tubes as well. So I could add one of those to each tube then I would only have a 16" gap. That still should be plenty of room for access. I still think some type of reflector on the ends would help direct the light down though.

[hahnmeister]

As for the 'ring' to direct the light... you might want to consider that the light coming down the shaft in these things is alot different than a bulb in a relative shallow reflector...

The light isnt from a point source, but enters at all angles (a). As the light comes in at a more and more of an angle... it will bounce off the sides of the 'tube' more and more... every time it does it will lose some of its intensity... say... with some miro that is 95% reflective... after hitting the sides of the tube a dozen or so times... you can lose a good percentage of the light coming in (an argument that the further north you are, the more you might consider having your sola tubes come down at an angle... perhaps the average angle of the sun at noon as it varies throughout the year... so you have more direct light).

If you decide on adding a 'ring' of reflective material to help guide the light downwards, also consider that since this isnt a point source light, like from a bulb, having a curved reflector is rather pointless. If you have a 'spherical' shape (b), you arent helping the light that hits the ring towards the bottom since its almost parallel with the sola-tube.... so what's the point? With a 'parabolic' (c), you have much the same, but at the top of the reflector... light that hits it at a sharp angle will still exit at a sharp angle. So the best 'average' is actually just a flat sided funnel (d)... which is nice because its the easiest to make. It will bend the most light downwards, and by making it 'flat sided', you can even have the angle be adjustable (so you can vary the funnel walls from say.... 45 degrees to 30 degrees) by having the bottom edge overlap and be adjustable with clamps (top edge stays the diameter of the sola tube, bottom diameter can change in diameter... like an aperture on a camera).

[8BALL_99]

hahnmeister, You read my mind. Thanks for the illustration. I was already thinking of a funnel with flat sides. Just by looking at the outlet of the tube I was thinking this might be the most effective. Not to mention something I could make. I already bought some poster board on the way home from work the play with the angle and size before I try to do it out of metal. I also double checked my measurements and 24" extensions will work Perfect as far as the canopies are concerned. If the funnel reflectors comes down very much I might end up cutting the extensions down a couple inches, But I'll deal with that when I get that far.

Will

[el aguila]

I have recently purchasedd 2 - 14" tubes. If you experiment with the angles of a funnel, I would be very interested in your results.

[8BALL_99]

I've already made one out of Poster board. I'm waiting on my 24" extensions now. Once I get them I'll make my funnel out of metal. I need to find a good place to order the metal from. That or I'll just go to lowes or home depot and pick up a Extension tube for their brand solar tubes and cut the funnels out of that metal.

[salty joe]

If I ever get mine going, I will use 2 48"x48" skylights. Is there an infra red filter that could be removed in the winter to help heat the tank and removed in the summer? I looked around the net & all I could find was camera stuff.

[hahnmeister]

LoE filters UV as well as IR.

[salty joe]

I don't know how much LoE would knock off PAR, but judging from the light coming through my windows, it would be significant.
So I'm wondering if there is a filter that would block only IR, to be used only in the summer. Trying to find every possible way to cut down on the energy consumtion of my future tank.

It is my understanding that UV exposure can cause corals to produce protective pigments that are colorful. I also wonder if the UV might harm fish since they will always be in shallow water.

[DheereCrossing]

Most metal hailides with out filters give off uv don't they?

[hobogato]

here was my thinking on what i did....

[hahnmeister]

Sure, the 'pipe' sticks into the reflector so much that the top part of it really doesn't get used then... the only part that is actually 'working' is the bottom, which looks mostly flat.

[hobogato]

yes, but it is out - away from the tube, so there is less spot light effect and the light covers the area under it more evenly.

[VegasReefer]

Thanks for putting that graphic up hahnmeister. That is what I was trying to explain. Unfortunatly I got pulled out of town for a couple weeks, and wasn't able to reply.

[VegasReefer]

DOuble Post and Delete didn't work

[WDLV]

Phenominal pics everybody! Keep 'em coming. Lots of great ideas in this thread.

[JMBoehling]

Here's an updated video of my reef. Sun is pretty low in the sky so not much natural light. Looking forward to spring and the sun to shine on in



Later,

Jim

[WDLV]

Cool Jim. Thanks for sharing.

[mborn]

Hey Jim, the tank’s looking great! I really like how the corals are mounted on the walls and are growing in. Fantastic look!

[JMBoehling]

It's growing season and time for a spring time update



Later,

Jim

[GUILLO1]

Looking really good. I love all the zoos on the bottom.

[mborn]

Very nice!

[SERVO]

Originally posted by hahnmeister
As for the 'ring' to direct the light... you might want to consider that the light coming down the shaft in these things is alot different than a bulb in a relative shallow reflector...

The light isnt from a point source, but enters at all angles (a). As the light comes in at a more and more of an angle... it will bounce off the sides of the 'tube' more and more... every time it does it will lose some of its intensity... say... with some miro that is 95% reflective... after hitting the sides of the tube a dozen or so times... you can lose a good percentage of the light coming in (an argument that the further north you are, the more you might consider having your sola tubes come down at an angle... perhaps the average angle of the sun at noon as it varies throughout the year... so you have more direct light).

If you decide on adding a 'ring' of reflective material to help guide the light downwards, also consider that since this isnt a point source light, like from a bulb, having a curved reflector is rather pointless. If you have a 'spherical' shape (b), you arent helping the light that hits the ring towards the bottom since its almost parallel with the sola-tube.... so what's the point? With a 'parabolic' (c), you have much the same, but at the top of the reflector... light that hits it at a sharp angle will still exit at a sharp angle. So the best 'average' is actually just a flat sided funnel (d)... which is nice because its the easiest to make. It will bend the most light downwards, and by making it 'flat sided', you can even have the angle be adjustable (so you can vary the funnel walls from say.... 45 degrees to 30 degrees) by having the bottom edge overlap and be adjustable with clamps (top edge stays the diameter of the sola tube, bottom diameter can change in diameter... like an aperture on a camera).

I've always thought that it would be pretty cool to take some luminarc reflectors, cut a hole and or customize the design to obtain maximum reflectivity. There isn't a coral out there that wouldn't keep its color providing your chemisty's are stable and appropriate.

[JMBoehling]

Shots from tonight. No natural sun, just (02) t5's and a couple LED's. Natural Light is booming right now. I'll take some day shots in a few months.



Later,

Jim

[Western_reefer]

VERY nice reef Jim!!