Truth or Myth?

I agree. My tank is in a sunroom and although not directly next to a window it gets plenty of natural light and I have seen only positive results since it was moved there 6 months ago.

 

Nutrient control, nutrient control, nutrient control. If they are controlled, you don't have to worry about sunlight. In fact, with timers on your lights, having sun can save substantial monies.

 

The majority of all algea's are photosynthetic, excess nutrients are a major factor in algal blooms, but they still need light to survive. This is why we black out tanks for a period to kill of the algea.

 

I do agree though that if nutrients are under control and with timers as inwall has said, it can be benefitial. I have my tank away from sunlight and the lights are on from noon til 10pm, but if it was in direct sunlight from 7 am when the sun comes in my front windows til the lights went off at 10 pm, then I think I would have some issues. But I may be wrong.

 

I should clarify, mine is in a sunroom but the positioning only allows it to get sunlight in the morning. Not sure if full time direct light would be good for a small ecosystem like mine but can't say for sure. I know the huge aquarium in japan uses natural sunlight for it's coral reef but it is a lot bigger.

 

Kind of a trick question, of course natural sunlight aids in the growth of algae, otherwise there wouldn't be anything living in the ocean. But the myth is that it can cause the algae in your tank to go out of control, which is just not true. If there are no available nutrients and your parameters are in check, you should not have a problem.

 

i agree with NEIGHBORTOM....my tank is half under a window so it gets direct sunlight and that side is no better of worse the the other half of the tank.

 

My 30 gallon was next to a window, and I always had film algae problems. Nutrients were fine, but I had film algae constantly. Now, I don't have this problem in my 75 which is far away from a window. From what I have read / heard the issue isn't with sunlight itself, it's the way the glass filters the light.

I've read that on some larger tanks you can use solar tubes directly over the top of the tank which will provide the same beneficial lighting without the problem algae issues.

I just know from my experience I had more algae problems with a tank next to a window.

 

When I had a 180G next to a window it was a mess. After it was moved across the room it was much easier to care for. Yes nutrient control is necessary but thats not alays easy in a closed system like an aquarium. The oceans have it much easier since the dilution factor is not comparable to a small contained recirculated aquarium.

 

I have a 200 that gets various amounts of natural light depending on the season. I have never noticed more or less algae in the areas that get the natural light. But I have noticed that the corals all get very excited as the passes over them. They open up much more for real light than the 4 x 250 MH over the tank. Even when the MH's are already on the sun just seems to wake them all up.


Nutrient Control !