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Unread 03/18/2006, 07:06 AM   #701
p4ck37p1mp
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Tagging along, very interesting concept. Waiting for a house that I might be able to do it.


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Unread 03/23/2006, 09:35 PM   #702
Scuba_Dave
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I'm still planning on adding solatubes to my addition for my tank
Just a matter of where it will be located


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Unread 04/05/2006, 10:46 AM   #703
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@AJT, yup they are the solatube brand. There is an acrylic dome on the roof with a mirror attachment to catch most of the days sun. Apart from that the tubes are hollow and I'm not using any of the deflector plates on the end of the tubes. That being said, in the next few months I am going to have to clean the domes on the roof and give the tubes a light dusting as the spider webs are starting to build up, and nothing is allowed to block the sun over my reef!

:cheers:


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Unread 04/05/2006, 11:04 AM   #704
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I am looking for property to build a new home & upgrading my 200 to a 500-600 gallon. I'm thinking these solatubes might be a good option.


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Unread 04/05/2006, 11:42 AM   #705
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Quote:
Originally posted by AJT
I am looking for property to build a new home & upgrading my 200 to a 500-600 gallon. I'm thinking these solatubes might be a good option.
just build a sunroom. that's what i'm planning (wishing). a gigantic 2000g+ cube tank, viewable on all sides (sunlight on 3-sides, 4th being the house).

i'm building it shortly after winning the lottery. any day now. any day. yup, any day...

oh yeah, this is my back-to-reality 2.5-gallon sunlight pico-tank.




i think the sola-tubes is more applicable to a house/structure already built and defined. if you're building from scratch, a series of skylights or a sunroom is probably a better option imo.


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Unread 04/05/2006, 12:44 PM   #706
KMDO
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Quote:
Originally posted by SAT


The light meter in my camera indicates that a high percentage of the light hitting the top of each tube is coming out the bottom. Not a very precise measurement, but good enough to make me very happy.

Maybe sometime you can take a meter reading from an 18% gray card at the water surface and if the shutter speed is the recipricol of the film speed @ f16 it would be roughly eqaul to full sunlight in intensity, it will likely be less from some loss but with the number of stop or stops to open up it could be SWAGed pretty close.

Would be very interesting to know what the meter says, an incident light meter would negate the need for a gray card, so if anyone has access to a flashmeter like a Minolta Flashmeter IV or V AND a light tube maybe post the results.


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Unread 04/05/2006, 01:21 PM   #707
KMDO
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SAT sorry about the query I saw your gray card post on page 5, long thread been all over this one.

The 20% difference on a scale would be markedly reduced in a sensistive flashmeter that will show 1/10th stops.

Thanks for info, impressive that the outside reading is same as inside on card.


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Unread 04/05/2006, 10:28 PM   #708
wazbot
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I will never build a tank again without using the sun as the main source of light. I am so stoked I took the plunge. even on overcast days it looks good.

Next tank I might just build it outside, above the house so there is no shadow, with a ladder to get up to the viewing platform! Kinda like a castle tower, but with a fish tank.

:cheers:


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Unread 04/07/2006, 04:35 PM   #709
Dwayne
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I just came across this and thought it might worth mentioning in this thread. Pardon me if this was mention earlier in the thread.

Parans

FWIW


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Unread 05/02/2006, 12:51 PM   #710
JMBoehling
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Updated Pics - May 2, 2006

As promised, some updated pics.. Things are really starting to take shape...














Will update as things continue to grow

Later,

Jim


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Unread 05/03/2006, 10:39 AM   #711
kmacartney
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Wow, that is a great looking tank. Do you have any supplimental lighting?


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Unread 05/03/2006, 10:40 AM   #712
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Oops. i see that you do. Can you post a pic of how you have the tubes arranged with your lights?


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Unread 05/03/2006, 12:04 PM   #713
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A quick trip to his gallery gives this picture:



He's got a bunch of others in there too for ya.

Great updates though, I definately need to take advantage of the sun for the next tank setup...


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Unread 05/03/2006, 12:26 PM   #714
kmacartney
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Cool setup! Is the veiwing done from the other side of the wall?


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Unread 05/03/2006, 03:25 PM   #715
JMBoehling
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Quote:
Originally posted by kmacartney
Cool setup! Is the veiwing done from the other side of the wall?
Thank you! Yes the viewing is from our Great Room.. The previous photo is from the Mudroom side (Very convenient for doing water changes )

Later,

Jim


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Unread 05/03/2006, 11:05 PM   #716
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well I'm sold on them. the tank is really starting to look great.


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Unread 05/04/2006, 09:12 AM   #717
onetrickpony
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great setup
what brand are you using and size
I am thinking of trying the 24"
what side of the house are they on /orientation to the sun n-e -s =w
what do you think
thanks
ken


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Unread 05/04/2006, 10:01 AM   #718
JMBoehling
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Quote:
Originally posted by onetrickpony
great setup
what brand are you using and size
I am thinking of trying the 24"
what side of the house are they on /orientation to the sun n-e -s =w
what do you think
thanks
ken
Brand is Gordon from Home Depot. (02) 10" tubes with approx 12 ft. of extensions. I do not have the diffusers mounted.

The tubes are positioned that I get perfect, unobstructed sunlight from approx 9 am to 3 pm.. At this very moment I am getting max sunlight.

Iabsolutley love the natural light, but you do need supplimental light like T5's or VHO's to get the purples, etc out of your SPS...

Thanks again for the kind words!

Later,

Jim


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Unread 05/05/2006, 08:21 AM   #719
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I wonder how many I would need to fill a 120"x 36" tank


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Unread 05/05/2006, 12:02 PM   #720
pvtschultz
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I would consider the tube lights to be similar to MHs: one for every 24" of tank. If you go with 10" units, you can probably go with four if you desired, two on each side of the center brace. I am thinking that I will be using two 14" tubes over my 90 AGA (48x18x24, LxWxH). The 14" tubes should fit between the rafters snug.


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Unread 05/05/2006, 02:29 PM   #721
JMBoehling
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Sizing depends on what type of Supplemental lights you are planning to run, if any...

For the 120" tank I would think (04) 14" ers would work great, unless you can step it up to the 20"ers.. Unfortunately you'll need some major planning on boxing out rafters and joists, as 20" Tubes don't fit very well on 16" centers...

On a 90, the 10" tubes are all I could fit, in addition to my supplemental T5's.. Even at that, my T5 bulbs block the natural light a bit..

Later,

jIm


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Unread 05/06/2006, 09:55 PM   #722
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Wish I could use SolaTubes. But my tank is on the lower level of my home which would require too many elbows and thus decreasing the efficiency of the tubes.


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Unread 05/06/2006, 10:05 PM   #723
T Man
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I'VE GOT A 4FT. BY 4 FT. BY 2 FEET TALL PLASTIC TANK THAT I'VE BEEN EXPOSING TO THE SUN IN THE AFTER NOON [ ABOUT THREE HOURS] A DAY AND THE REST OF THE DAY IS SOLEY AMBIENT SUN LIGHT.
I HAVE A VERY SMALL ATOLL IN THE CENTER OF THE LAGOON THAT HAS SPS ON TOP OF IT AND VARIOUS FRAGS DOWN BELOW MOSTLY SOFTIES. THEY REACT TO THE SUN LIKE THEY WERE IN THE WILD, WHICH ALLOWS FOR ACCELERATED GROWTH. I'M ALL FOR NATURAL LIGHTING, AFTER ALL THATS WHAT WE STRIVE TO GIVE OUR INVESTMENTS.TINMAN


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Unread 05/07/2006, 07:12 AM   #724
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Tin man,
Please do not post in all caps, it is the BB equivelant of screaming at us.
I promise we'll hear you just fine if you take off that caps lock.


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Unread 05/08/2006, 06:06 AM   #725
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has anyone tested light output from the sola tubes ? I am curious as to how it compares to MH in terms of intensity and spread.

sanjay


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