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benn3393 
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Joined: April 04 2005
Location: Cedar City
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 Topic: Moving my tank
Posted: June 17 2005 at 3:39pm |
I am moving my tank next month, because I will be moving house.
My question--all I have for lights is some crappy 18" striplights, so I was thinking of placing it in my window. Any thoughts on this, good/bad?
I figure the power of natural sunlight (especially since we live in the desert) will help immensely--however, I worry about the water getting too hot....
let me know
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Randy in Cedar City
12 Gallon Nano
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pmpt
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 3:42pm |
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I'd talk to Mark, he does that same thing with his tank. As far as I know his tank does great.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 4:03pm |
I love having the tank in the window. My tank is now in the window and it helps a lot. It's not like having several halides over your tank but I'll bet it is better than the 18" striplights. I see tons of advantages of sunlight and personally that is how I plan to light a large portion of my next tank.
Adam
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coreyk
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 4:12pm |
If
I ever move to a new house... I am going to be sure to have a space where I can
setup SolaTubes for my tank lighting and just supplement w/ VHO or T5 or a
combo of both. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a big 300 - 500g tank full of SPS
and not have to have halides?
Adam, are you planning on having any halides over your tank?
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 5:27pm |
Yes, but I too am a huge sola tube fan. I'm actually leaning more towards a wall of windows (like a green house) but sola tubes would still be a great option.
Corey- do you think you could use sola tubes coming in from the side of the house to light a tank in the basement? That is my worry, because I don't plan to have my tank on an upper floor.
Adam
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coreyk
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 5:38pm |
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I honestly dont know.... I *think* its best to have them be a straight
shot down. I sure would love to see a tank that uses them and see how
the readings on the PAR meter compare.
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bugzme
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 5:40pm |
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Don't you need a window to the east? One of my tanks is by a window with western exposure but I too worry about heat.
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Jeff
125 tank
50 gallon sump
T-5 lighting
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I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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ssilcox
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 6:11pm |
I just setup a consultation to have someone come out and give an estimate to install a solatube. Their 21" version supposedly is equivalent to a 400 watt halide, according to their website. Plus, the cost isnt really significant considering it will pay for itself in a matter of months if you are replacing halides.
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bugzme
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Posted: June 17 2005 at 6:11pm |
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Shane, I'm really interested in that! would you please give them my name and number? I want a bid also!
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Jeff
125 tank
50 gallon sump
T-5 lighting
Rum drinker, Carbon User
I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!!
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: June 18 2005 at 11:26am |
Shane- I too would much appreciate you updating this information for us. Please do let me know how much light it really is, and what the cost is.
I don't really need my own estimate now, I'll just go off of what they tell you.
Thanks so much,
Adam
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: June 19 2005 at 10:19am |
Be sure that they know how to install it so your roof doesn't leak later 
I did one at the same time as the roof was being replaced. It worked great for illumination but I wouldn't trust it to light my tank. The color rendition of the reflective material used makes a huge impact.
I would go look at an existing one in two different conditions. Observe the way it alters the color of natural direct sunlight and indirect sunlight as the light is reflected through the tube.
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ssilcox
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Posted: June 20 2005 at 9:17am |
Hey Mark - was it a solatube?
Here is info from their site:
| 21" (530mm) Open Ceiling Solatube (b) (SolaMaster Series) |
13,900 Avg. Lumens (a) Up to 20,800 |
Approximately equal to the mean light output of 0.6 - 400W High Bay Metal Halide Fixtures. (c) |
I can supplement the nasty yellow color with some T5's...
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: June 21 2005 at 8:51am |
I bought this one at HD. The reflective material gave a greenish blue hue which my wife did not like so I added a yellowish white piece of plastic in the house end, as a filter.
The info is hopeful. Still, I would check it out in use somewhere before installing it. 
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: June 21 2005 at 9:32am |
I think SolaTubes are proven to work and not leak. I just don't know if they work well enough. You may need a ton of them, or to supplement with extra light. Both of which I plan to do.
Adam
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