Sunlight Wattage

[theotheragentm]

Is there a way to measure the wattage coming from sunlight inot a room? My room that houses my fish tank doesn't get direct sunlight, but it's quite bright throughout the whole day. Does anyone have any ideas how I can measure this easily?

 

[neilanh]

F&S sells a light meter, I suppose that might work

 

[Plantbrain]

Apogee makes a nice PAr light meter that easily measures what you want, they are about 300$, but water proof etc and can read both electric and sun light sources specifically relevant to plants.

Note: sunlight varies throughout the day period, so one single reading is not going to tell that much. Electric light is far more stable.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[theotheragentm]

Hmmm, okay I'll look into these items. Light varies throughout the day, but the room is pretty bright from sun up to sun down. It's just a nice area on the house without anything blocking light, not even trees. I have less than 1 WPG on the tank currently and just a handful of plants that are doing well. I didn't want to push my luck without seeing how much light I really have available to me via the sun.

Thanks, guys.

 

[Purrbox]

If you're planning on using a sunny room, you might want to look into Diana Walstad's Natural Aquarium methods.

 

[theotheragentm]

If you're planning on using a sunny room, you might want to look into Diana Walstad's Natural Aquarium methods.

I see she has a book. Are these methods contained in her book?

 

[Purrbox]

That's what her book is about. There's also a lot of information available online. Some forums like APC have an entire subforum devoted to the topic.