Planted tanks and natural sunlight

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ArkyLady

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Nov 27, 2002
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Planted tanks and natural sunlight - filterless aquarium

The new house I'm moving to has a whole wall of windows on one side of the livingroom and I've been planning some shelves in front of these windows to keep my house plants. I'd really love to keep a few 10 gallon planted tanks mixed in these shelves along with the potted plants.

Is natural sunlight somehow bad? I remember reading that you shouldn't put your aquarium where it can get too much light because it can cause algae problems. I'd assume in a nicely planted tank that wouldn't be much of an issue?

These windows get full sun all morning long, then would only be partial sun the rest of the day. How will this affect lighting for the tanks? Just use what I normally would? or should I use a bit less since they'll also be getting some natural sunlight?

Thanks :)
 
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I would be more concerned about the tanks over-heating from the direct sunlight. Big temperature swings aren't healthy for the inhabitants.

That said, I think it could be done. I'm an optimist and I don't know for sure. You would have to inject CO2 and keep on top of nutrients to keep the plants growing well.

Let's see what others say... :)
 
I have a 10 gal. that gets just that kind of sun for a couple of hours in the morning, but I have mini blinds on the window to control just how much of it the tank gets.
In the winter the blinds can be open totally, but in the summer it must be controlled closely.
The tank in question is stuffed with plants, but I know I'd experience algae issues if I left it to it's on devices in June, July and August.
I agree with beviking on the temp. issue as well.

Len
 
Thanks you two. Temp swings wasn't something I had really considered, thanks for the heads up there.

Doing research on this, I ran into the concept of filterless aquariums again. Anyone tried this? I've thought about it before, but not in awhile. I'm going to search the forums here now to see what I can dig up :)
 
It's my opinion that natural sunlight is too intense for the small ecosystem of aquariums - small or large tanks..

Also, you don't have control if the weather turns stormy. Not to mention a full eclipse of the sun! (..kidding...)

If you have time, and you are prepared for 'algae a la extreme..' - give it a try. The sun is a light source I would never use, or depend on for an aquarium.
 
125gJoe said:
The sun is a light source I would never use, or depend on for an aquarium.
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Depend on? Do you mean it's just too variable Joe? Even in Florida? Here in Syracuse NY, it isn't out enough to grow Java fern! :laugh:
Seems that even filtered sunlight (like through light cloud cover) would be enough light for plants. I don't know, just throwing the idea out there.
 
Diana Waldstad only recommends growing plants by natural light, and filterless. And built a huge reputation by doing so. Her style, not common on the boards, does work - that cannot be argued. It is not at all my style, but it certainly can be done.

Light and heat control are certainly to be considered and monitored, but there is nothing there that is really oddball or outside normal tank operation for an experienced hobbyist, and especially one with prior plant experience.

Ms. Waldstad moderates on http://www.aquabotanic.com you could likely contact her or read her posts there for helpful hints.
 
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beviking said:
Depend on? Do you mean it's just too variable Joe? ... ....
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Yes, it's not a constant. As RTR mentioned it's possible to do it, but I would think it would be a disaster for about 95% who try it.

Of course that percentage would be lower if those people don't have to go to work for 40+ hours a week. Then they can sit, watch and monitor their sunlit tanks.

Seems like people living near Seattle would have no trouble Java Ferns near windows where the sun could shine through all day since there's hardly any sunshine there anyway. In fact, the TV news calls it "sun breaks" when it's partly cloudy - like it's time to celebrate some sunshine... :D
 
I keep my excess plant clippings that I want to save in a large glass jar on the window ledge with some ramms horn snails. As long as I pull out the decaying plant bits the water quality always appears good, but if I leave them in the water quickly turns green. Also the temp swings wildly in that jar. The snails seem to do fine, but I wouldn't put fish in there.

Perhaps you could just have a planted tank with out fish? Do some really good aquascaping.
 
RTR, I've been reading some of Diana Waldstad's stuff and it's very interesting. Her ideas are very appealing to me since what I want is easy maintenance for this particular project. Thanks for that link, I haven't read there yet, will go see what else I can find out.

TKOS, I'm going to go fishless. Glad to know that the snails don't seem affected by the temp swings, any idea how shrimp would handle something like this?

I'm really starting to look forward to this, will be a fun experiment to see if I can find the proper balance to make this all work. If anyone else has any experience with this type of setup or links to more information, it would be appreciated. Once I get the project underway, I will document it so I can share it with everyone, whether it works or not :)
 
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