Direct and Indirect sunlight concerns.

[CringeTankDaddy]

The photos make my concern very clear. Although there will be no direct sunlight or "rays" hitting the tank this new place is very bright in general. I do have blinds on every single pane but I got this place for the windows obviously. Is this just going to be too bright to do LPS or SPS corals? Will they brown immediately? I am ok-ish with algae because I am willing to put in the effort to clean that in different ways. My main concern is health and aesthetic. I know I could black that right side off to help and I will consider doing that if It truly is going to save the tank but I would love to be able to keep that view so I could look behind the aquascape. Thank you in advance! This is my first attempt ever. I am taking it slow and loving every bit of the "researching". 2 month obsession about to begin in a week or two!!!

 

[Bpb]

I wouldn’t be concerned at all

 

[Doctorgori]

here is my SIMILAR situation

I’m not seeing a PAR issue and in fact its actually good since i can tune down my LED’s… main issues are temps and algae…even with PO under .05, I can’t keep up with that soft brown stuff… my suggestion is pack in the corals or anything to keep your nitrates or whatever in check or get a good scraper

 

[littlefoxx]

I think its okay! My tank is in my kitchen which gets bright during the day but not in direct sunlight like yours and my corals dont have an issue with it

 

[Reefering1]

Corals get plenty sunlight in the ocean... as stated above, algea is the concern. If you're willing to put in a little extra work(mainly in the beginning), you don't have a problem

 

[Reefing102]

Agreed. Mine gets indirect evening sun for probably an hour or so. Just some extra algae to scrape but no other issues

 

[Alexraptor]

Personally I'd be tempted to put a tank right AT the windows.

Years ago, I actually ended up having problems with Zoas and GSP overrunning my tank completely "because" of direct sunlight during early spring and late fall.

 

[oreo54]

The photos make my concern very clear. Although there will be no direct sunlight or "rays" hitting the tank this new place is very bright in general. I do have blinds on every single pane but I got this place for the windows obviously. Is this just going to be too bright to do LPS or SPS corals? Will they brown immediately? I am ok-ish with algae because I am willing to put in the effort to clean that in different ways. My main concern is health and aesthetic. I know I could black that right side off to help and I will consider doing that if It truly is going to save the tank but I would love to be able to keep that view so I could look behind the aquascape. Thank you in advance! This is my first attempt ever. I am taking it slow and loving every bit of the "researching". 2 month obsession about to begin in a week or two!!!

Soo many factors to consider. What amount of light actually hits that side pane?
What direction that window in front (side windows may not be much of an issue) of that side is facing?
What latitude are you in?

For fun you can use either a phone app or buy a cheap lux meter and see how much light actually impacts the tank.
23 par/1000 lux. 6500k sunlight factor

I don't know how sw tanks are effected by large shifts in par, as in inconsistent by week or month (Yes this actually occurs in nature)
not day but in the fw world I found nothing but issues with unregulated light.

I've had hundreds ( worst case 1000) of par differences on daily and seasonal basis.
Now to be clear the tank was blocked on the south by a wall but had a row of south facing windows in "front" of it perpendicular to the front of a 55gal.
Granted a fairly extreme set up and with the low winter sun exaggerating it.


Bottom line though is first see what you are actually dealing with. Your eyes are a bit worthless in this regard.
And keep in mind seasonal changes.

 

[CringeTankDaddy]

Soo many factors to consider. What amount of light actually hits that side pane?
What direction that window in front (side windows may not be much of an issue) of that side is facing?
What latitude are you in?

For fun you can use either a phone app or buy a cheap lux meter and see how much light actually impacts the tank.
23 par/1000 lux. 6500k sunlight factor

I don't know how sw tanks are effected by large shifts in par, as in inconsistent by week or month (Yes this actually occurs in nature)
not day but in the fw world I found nothing but issues with unregulated light.

I've had hundreds ( worst case 1000) of par differences on daily and seasonal basis.
Now to be clear the tank was blocked on the south by a wall but had a row of south facing windows in "front" of it perpendicular to the front of a 55gal.
Granted a fairly extreme set up and with the low winter sun exaggerating it.


Bottom line though is first see what you are actually dealing with. Your eyes are a bit worthless in this regard.
And keep in mind seasonal changes.

Sorry. Going through a move, new kitten And tank. Lol. Took me a second. Thank you for the thorough response.

So the farthest windows are facing the east so for about an hour maybe two there is direct sunlight, but after that it doesn't not get much brighter than the photos. As for latitude I live in California basically sea level.

I will measure the pars or lux but are you saying 23 par and above will essentially be affecting the tanks biome? I know the key is more about consistency as well. But how sensitive does that mean? Is that mostly in regards to direct sunlight? Or if I suddenly close blinds from time to time affect it too because it's so bright?

Again. I will start by measuring the sunlight and see what it reads at worst and maybe mid day too.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Don't worry about it... in your case at least. My tanks get a bit of natural sunlight in the morning...

 

[oreo54]

So the farthest windows are facing the east so for about an hour maybe two there is direct sunlight, but after that it doesn't not get much brighter than the photos. As for latitude I live in California basically sea level.

I will measure the pars or lux but are you saying 23 par and above will essentially be affecting the tanks biome? I know the key is more about consistency as well. But how sensitive does that mean? Is that mostly in regards to direct sunlight? Or if I suddenly close blinds from time to time affect it too because it's so bright?

Again. I will start by measuring the sunlight and see what it reads at worst and maybe mid day too.

No I was just giving you a conversion factor so you can estimate par fluctuations.


How it impacts your tank will be a err case by case basis.

Latitude matters most with a south facing window and northern latitudes.
For me in winter I get direct sun because it is low on the horizon. In summer it is more indirect due to height above the horizon.

Anyways sun positional changes can drastically change the amount of light.

East/ west facing I suspect not so much.
North none except in Alaska?


To be honest, a brief "survey" seems that to the vocal majority it makes little difference.

Always best to know what you have.
For myself I was amazed at the par difference.

YMMV ....

Tank in front of window??

Greetings all, In prep for the 375gal project I have found the need to change my intended location for the 125gal FOLR tank. I will have to put the 125 FOLR tank in front of a South West facing window that gets plenty of sun. I am wondering the best way to protect from incoming heat and light...

forums.reefcentral.com

 

[oreo54]

Followup from somewhere else...

How bad is natural light?

So I am hoping to start the plumbing on my Lil 20g today but where I have it it's near a sliding glass door where it would get a decent amount of natural sunlight. How bad will this make algae growth in a newly setup tank? I can move it somewhere else if it means avoiding a big algae problem

humble.fish