Fish Folk Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 I used to be opposed to any sunlight on my tanks. But I’m learning to embrace it in moderation. This 29 gal. U. S. Native tank gets a couple hours of filtered sunlight each morning. Rainbow Shiners, Redtail Goodeids, and Rainbow Darters all do well in the light and high flow + aeration. Here’s one minute of sunlight on the tank… 9 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 I love natural sunlight on all my tanks. They are placed so they each get a few hours a day. I do put backing on the ones right in front of the window then angle wooden blind down so they get some sun. The flip side I do use uv on all my tanks to prevent green water. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 9:59 AM, Guppysnail said: I do use uv on all my tanks to prevent green water. Can you show your set up for this? Sounds very interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 All my tanks get several hours of sunlight a day, and they are thriving. I love the algae that forms as it becomes food for the critters and saves me if I have to go away for several days. 😁 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 The most important lesson of all is not “don’t be afraid of the dark,” but rather, “Don’t be afraid of the Light.” 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 (edited) On 9/27/2021 at 10:15 AM, Fish Folk said: Can you show your set up for this? Sounds very interesting. The ones you don’t see the window get hit late afternoon. As the sun progresses it hits each tank throughout the day. I use green killing machine clip on to hob ones intermittently also the 6 and 9 w internal ones as need and my two canisters are fluval with in-line uvc installed. I never have algae issues other than potential green water. I might have the worst algae known to man but I never see it all my critters eat it 🤣 please forgive the disaster I’m in the middle of weekly water change and maintenance Edited September 27, 2021 by Guppysnail 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARMYVET Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 10:24 AM, Fish Folk said: The most important lesson of all is not “don’t be afraid of the dark,” but rather, “Don’t be afraid of the Light.” What if I am scared of the dark but others are scared of me in the light?🤷♂️ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griznatch Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 @Fish Folk I love your native tank and am a big fan of a little sunlight on tanks! My wife's 55 gallon is probably the healthiest tank in the house. It gets about an hour in the morning and a bit in the after noon from the windows on either side.. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 I’m my area in south Florida many of the homes where built between 2004-2008 and are remarkably similar in style with a open floor plan so houses from 1200-3600sqft are very open with sun al over. The only bastion of darkness is the garage but you need one of the silver suits they use to go close to volcanos. My pint being there are my great tank here but people tend to learn that balance of real sunlight without knowimg. When you ask themthey are just great with plants. Or you get I can’t get anything to grow. Mostly because its in the faint picture window over looking the Gulf of Mexico. We all have homes over looking the ocean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlefish Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 It's been speculated that some domesticated fish that have diminished coloration in contrast to wild caught may be affected by lack of natural light. I think it may have been Dean the fish breeder who said that, not sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 12:48 PM, Littlefish said: It's been speculated that some domesticated fish that have diminished coloration in contrast to wild caught may be affected by lack of natural light. I think it may have been Dean the fish breeder who said that, not sure. Yeah, I’ve definitely seen the differences between outdoor mini ponds vs inside aquariums. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 (edited) I have one tank that’s in a room with lots of windows and natural light. It gets a bit of green algae on the glass but a scraping every couple of weeks takes care of it. @Daniel’s ultra low tech Angel tank journal helped my stop worrying about it. One thing I learned from that is it’s ok to have some algae issues during the new tank phase. They tend to sort themselves out as the tank gets balanced. Edited September 27, 2021 by Patrick_G 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 10:48 AM, Littlefish said: It's been speculated that some domesticated fish that have diminished coloration in contrast to wild caught may be affected by lack of natural light. I think it may have been Dean the fish breeder who said that, not sure. I brought endlers ( @Guppysnail I have confirmation from a local breeder that the 'feeder guppies' I bought almost 2 years ago are actually endlers, and not cross breeds) to our local fish club meeting yesterday, and everyone thought the bag of clear water & brightly colored males was the indoor pond, and the heavier tannin water was the outdoor patio pond.... Nope. Just 20 minutes of direct light on our north facing porch every morning, mid - May through mid- September.... It makes an enormous difference in coloring, even though the indoor pond is in the turtle enclosure and gets UVA & UVB lights🤷♂️ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 (edited) Natural sun light great at getting fish to breed I've had a lot of success using natural sun light to breed tetras and barbs Edited September 28, 2021 by Colu 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonske Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 On 9/27/2021 at 9:26 PM, Fish Folk said: one minute of sunlight on the tank… Amazing-looking tanks and fish, thanks for sharing! I learned to love sunlight when I had to place my smallest tank right next to a west-facing window. It has crazy amount of guppies, best-looking, pearling-in-sunshine plants and it's overall the best-doing tank I have. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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