Lighting Opinions

[widefx]

So hopefully I will be starting to design a new tank system hopefully it will be 180g to 240g. One of the things I wanted to explore was natural lighting. what do you guys think of this for a source of light.



http://www.cetsolar.com/naturallight1.htm?gclid=CNep75WnsIYCFU1dDgod9RTpCg

[sir_dudeguy]

wow cool! so that thing would just go up in ur roof? and the top would get sunlight to come in? (here in az that'd be pretty easy lol..your corals would only get 1 cloudy day a year..and that was last night haha) but i wonder what the spectrum and intensity would be...? you'd have to test it to be sure wouldnt you?

[widefx]

Ya thats the part Im not sure of . I am sure there are diffrent types of filters you could get for it so that the color would not be too yellow.

The one thing I was thinking that might be an advantage if it will let the full spectrum of the sun light in is that you would not have heat issues.

[clkwrk]

There is a very long thread called ........Solartubes for lighting.

[sir_dudeguy]

was it very informative? thes have also got me thinkin about them lol.

[widefx]

thank chris I will check it out.
My neighbor just put them in his garage and it got me thinking.

[widefx]

Ok found it (now have to find time to read it)

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56125&highlight=Solartubes+for+lighting

[clkwrk]

Thats the thread :D

[sir_dudeguy]

wow! thats interesting, and really got me wondering about my lighting...only how do you get it on a tank that has 6 ft. from the ceiling, and another 6 fett to the top of the roof? and its not on an outside wall...its basically right in the middle of the house lol.

[sir_dudeguy]

nevermind...just read the prices on that thing lol...it'd be cheaper just to buy a mh/t5 setup.

[grenaria]

A single 250W MH bulb and balast running 12 hrs/day costs around $100/yr. A sky light costs $0/yr to run.

[clkwrk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7821064#post7821064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by grenaria
A single 250W MH bulb and balast running 12 hrs/day costs around $100/yr. A sky light costs $0/yr to run.

But add the install price along with the cost of the tubes and you are still cheaper with MH

[grenaria]

The devil is in the details, but I don't think you can just say MH is cheaper. For a moderatly large tank the electricity cost for just the lighting can easily be $600 a year (Icecap 660 + 3 250W MH), over 3 years that's $1800. Add in bulb replacement and you're up to almost $3000. And then there's the tax rebate on the solar tubing. And of course, there's nothing stopping you from installing the solar tubing yourself.

[sir_dudeguy]

true true...never even thought of that...so how do you get it to go 12 feet higher? and is there any parts that you could get cheaper at home depot?

[widefx]

Did you guys see the pics of the lighting it was so cool to see what a tank looks like under natural lighting IMO it look fantastic. I do feel that it would need some extra lighting just so you can view the tank after work mabey just some t5 and acnics

[widefx]

woops forgot the link so you guys can see what I am talking about
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=56125&perpage=25&highlight=Solartubes%20for%20lighting&pagenumber=30

[widefx]

Now that rocks talk about shimmer

[widefx]

Yes I am trying to get to 300 posts :)