The beauty of sunlit aquariums

[afFISHionado]

This morning, for the first time ever, I opened all the blinds in the room in which my aquarium is located and let all the sunshine come in. I love the look of the aqaurium this way much more than artificial light. I can see the colors and details of my fish and plants like never before. Of course, algae would be a problem if I were to do this all the time. But I got to wondering - Is there a way to have an aquarium completely illuminated by the sun (close to a window) and yet still control the algae? Pehaps by controlling phosphates and silicates? I'm sure that algae eating fish alone would not be enough. Is there anyone here who has their aquarium illuminated by the sun?

 

[Guest]

It can be done, but I have't done it. Well, my one tank gets 3 hours or so of afternoon sun, that small amount has not caused me much of an algae problem.

however, Ms. Diana Walstad in her book "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" (I hope I have that correct, the book is in my basement and I'm too lazy to get it right now), advocates sunlit aquariums. She likes low-tech, soil substrates, no co2 or additives. The book is pretty technical, but I picked up a lot of tips from it.

 

[fishfreek]

The heat would be the biggest issue vs the algae. Just stand infront of a window that has the sun comming in it for a few minutes and you will feel warmer than not standing infront of the window. The fish tank being there will absorb the heat and warm the water. On a sunny day the water temp could probably easily climb 10degrees F.

If you can control the temperature increase from the sun then yes you can do it. Many public aquariums use skylights to help light their displays.

 

[jratuszn]

I have a 70 gal open top that recieves no light at all during the day aside from what diffuse light is present in the room. It's on the wall opposite the windows, so it doesn't ever have sunlight directly on it, but the light that is present is enough to keep my Amazon sword alive.

-J

 

[cdawson]

Keeping a tank sunlit would probably be beneficial rather than detrimental. Algae is going to grow, no matter what if the nutrients are in over abundance. Most people who know their plants say that sun actually invigorates the fish and plants. If your nutrients are in over abundance than algae is going to grow. If you have your nitrates and such in check then a sunlit tank would be brilliant.

 

[justDIY]

if heat is a big concern, look into getting some IR film for your windows (the clear film, not the smokey kind)

the ir film will absorb / reflect a large portion of the 'heat' from the sunlight - similar to a thermopane window that has an argon charge

 

[snapcrackler]

I have a 70gal fresh in a 2nd story sunroom, and it gets blazing sun for the better part of every day. It is a semi-planted tank with lots of large rocks/caves. I have guppies and plecos in there (bristles, normal plecos, bluetail plecos) and everything in this tank breeds like there's no tomorrow. I must have 75 little plecos in there at any given time, and I have to remove 50-70 guppies at a time and sell them. I have deep blue-green algae that grows everywhere and makes the plecos go crazy like it's catnip, but the glass stays nice and clear because they really keep up. I run the flourescent lights on the tank during the day and evenings too, and turn off at night. Babies, babies everywhere!!! I never do water changes either, I run a full length high volume bubblewand, lots of powerheads and a real hummer of a HOB, and a mag350. I leave the tops open to get best gas exchange and I end up having to top the tank off 2-3 gallons per week or so. The water always smells "sweet" and fresh. The temperature fluctuates 3-4 degrees in a day sometimes due to the direct sunlight. It's probably the most interesting freshwater tank I have ever had! So I say the sun is a good thing. God made lots of stuff that just can't be duplicated, sunlight being one of them. Thanks for your time and peace out.

 

[Catalina]

I agree that sunlight can be very good for tanks. I have my partially planted 10 gal. right by my kitchen window, and the lighting is beautiful when the shades are up or down during the day. There is a bit of an algae problem, but I scrape the glass once a week and the rest of it sure keeps the cories happy! I have the flourescent lights on a timer from 6:30 pm- 12:30 am.

So far, I have not had to use a heater in this tank. I started it in the spring, and was told that I shouldn't worry about heating it over the summer, especially because it was by a window. Now that the temperatures outside have been dropping, I went out and bought a marineland 50 watt heater. However, the temperature in the tank is remaining at 76 deg. F. all through the day, and at night it never drops more than 2 degrees. Is this going to change? Should I run the heater only at night? Will I need it more as the temperatures drop even further? I'm confused about what to do, as my apartment is kept very warm in the winter, and the sunlight does warm up the tank, but it is also by a window, so does that make it more vulnerable to the cold outside?

I was going to start a new thread about this, but this one already relates so much to what I'm asking about, and I didn't want to be redundant. I will start a new thread if neccessary. But the main thing is, I love my tank by the window (and don't have room for it anywhere else!) but I just have questions about heating.

 

[snapcrackler]

Hi, your heater will have a dial thermostat so jut drop it in and turn it until the light just barely comes on, that way when your water temp starts to drop any time the heater will keep the temp from dropping. This way you have no worries. The heater behaves exactly like the thermostat in your house. Just set it and forget it. Since your tank is by a windows the cold will "fall" on it from the window but a 50W for a 10gal should keep up with the colder ambient temps just fine. Your 76 degree temp range will be fine, I keep my freshwater fish around 78 and the fish are more active. Hope this helps a little

 

[Catalina]

It does! Thanks so much. I will go do that right now.