Natural light bad?

[tanooki]

New reefer here going through the ugly stage with some gross diatom blooms. Today I was watching the tank and noticed a big splash of natural light on my tank. While it looked pretty I wondered if it was contributing to my ever lingering ugly stage. Do you think I should put some blinds on this window or am I overthinking it? I read that natural light will “brown out” corals.

 

[twentyleagues]

Natural light does not brown out corals. They look more brown in a natural light but that is only when the light hits them and it does not have the deep blue to make them pop. It could cause a algae growth from the added lighting. We have an lfs that is set up in a green house here and uses natural lighting as much as possible but being in Michigan they still need to supplement with lighting fixtures. As long as you deal with the algae or have cuc that will it wont be an issue.

 

[Pistondog]

New reefer here going through the ugly stage with some gross diatom blooms. Today I was watching the tank and noticed a big splash of natural light on my tank. While it looked pretty I wondered if it was contributing to my ever lingering ugly stage. Do you think I should put some blinds on this window or am I overthinking it? I read that natural light will “brown out” corals.

Natural light is a plus and minus. In my case it is higher intensity than orphek led. I think it promotes faster growth of all things photosynthetic, corals and algae. Cuc can handle the algae, once you help it get to a managable level.

 

[Tahoe61]

That would not concern me. All my tanks receive sunlight for brief periods during the day. Two of the tanks are next to windows.

 

[bradreef]

Same, mine gets light for a few hours during the day. Par is super high but coral handles it fine.