Help with island tank design!

[Scooterman]

Okay maybe I am boring you guys with details but what the heck...

Oh no your doing just great, I think you have a passion for wood, man that is some nice stuff, If you would see the stand I'm making it would be a giggle, I can appreciate the material your using very much. We have a thread here I think that had a custom center overflow where water plumbing etc came up the middle, I'll look it up, this will give you good ideas of design, I like the idea of a tank with nothing but viewing 360 degrees.

 

[Scooterman]

center overflow

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7318

 

[Willy]

Would using pendants for lighting be an option?? Bring the electrical for the lighting from above?? Not sure whered youd put the ballasts tho. Or are you going to have a canopy? Even if you are I think you could make it so the canopy hides the pendants from direct view..

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Would using pendants for lighting be an option?? Bring the electrical for the lighting from above?? Not sure whered youd put the ballasts tho. Or are you going to have a canopy? Even if you are I think you could make it so the canopy hides the pendants from direct view..

I ve seen allot of island tanks that have the ballasts on shelf above the tank. If its going to be like most island tanks the Canopy will go to the cieling. If so then easy storage for ballasts.

 

[dragoneggs]

Would using pendants for lighting be an option?? Bring the electrical for the lighting from above?? Not sure whered youd put the ballasts tho. Or are you going to have a canopy? Even if you are I think you could make it so the canopy hides the pendants from direct view..

Hey Willy,

For me pendants aren't an option as I am not planning any plumbing or electrical going up. My ceiling in fact is funky above where the tank will sit. The tank will be a room divider but between my kitchen and living room the ceiling changes from a typical flat 8ft to a cathedral cantilever. Hard to describe... anyways it doesn't work for me. I will have a canopy... yet to be designed to house the MH and other lighting. I like the idea of moonlights and flourescents to augment the MH but I am not there yet.

All of my electrical is planned to route through the bottom of my tank and stand down to my crawl space where I am adding two 20amp circuits.

Mark

 

[dragoneggs]

Here is an old thread that might be helpful. This tank was going to be a room divider: Plumbing ideas for a Room Divider.

Other than having all the plumbing coming up from the bottom, I don't know how to incorporate a closed loop. You could have the closed loop intakes come up from the bottom (not in the overflow box), and cover them with some kind of acrylic blinds. Here is another thread I thought of for you. It is from RC, and although not an "island" tank, the thread starter has small closed loop outputs in the front bottom corners. If you click over to the last page, you will see another cube tank that has all the plumbing in the middle. 240 Gallon Cube Tank Photo Diary. Hope the images help spark some thoughts in your head...especially the tank on the last page.

Nikki, wow thank you very much for the two threads you provided! What a wealth of info!!! Mojoreef's design for kris4647 has me thinking about a center located black acrylic tower with four manifolds mounted inside of it running vertically with the pump and OM located below the tank. If I understand this correctly I would have 16 adjustable nozzles to play with moving the water throughout the tank and column. I have to think about the plumbing (including the overflow and return but the CL inflow) more detail but I love this concept! Using the locline or whatever you call it mounted to the external sides of the center tower and being able to customize the direction and have it protrude out of the LR hiding the whole thing seems like the ticket to me

Again... thanks for the direction. I am feeling much better about the doability (is that a word?) and effectiveness in a four sided viewing setup. Again I am striving for an extremely low noise along with an 'invisible' plumbing arrangement. I have no idea about the noise of this arrangement.

Also keep in mind that all lighting conduit will be going down through the bottom as well.

God this is fun!!!

 

[dragoneggs]

I ve seen allot of island tanks that have the ballasts on shelf above the tank. If its going to be like most island tanks the Canopy will go to the cieling. If so then easy storage for ballasts.

Hi Reefdaddy,

Thanks for chiming in! My canopy will not go to the ceiling because of my funky ceiling situation. I do plan to have a 'tall' canopy and a grate on the top which will be above viewing height to allow heat to escape but I want to keep the light from being a distraction. I don't know yet whether the ballasts will go up here or down below. This is also our room for watching TV and don't want an extraneous light other than the coming directly from the viewing angles. Are MH ballasts silent?

Mark

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Hi Reefdaddy,

Thanks for chiming in! My canopy will not go to the ceiling because of my funky ceiling situation. I do plan to have a 'tall' canopy and a grate on the top which will be above viewing height to allow heat to escape but I want to keep the light from being a distraction. I don't know yet whether the ballasts will go up here or down below. This is also our room for watching TV and don't want an extraneous light other than the coming directly from the viewing angles. Are MH ballasts silent?

Mark

Pretty much, Some get Hum but yeah they are pretty quiet.

Bob

 

[dragoneggs]

Pump decisions

Okay... I have been considering plumbing and now I am leaning towards placing my pumps for both CL and under the floor in the crawlspace instead of in the sump/tank stand.

My main concerns are noise and heat of course. My crawlspace is quite shallow so I am probably going to plumb the pumps (IWAKI) near to my entrance for easier maintenance. I assume this won't really add much to the head loss by running them 25ft horizontally from below the tank. I am conservatively assuming 6ft of vertical rise as well from underfloor to tank.

I am trying to avoid a chiller and the remote location of the pumps I should think will help quite a bit. Especially if I decide to go with 400 MH. Actually that is my other nagging question... 2 x 250s, 3 x 250s, 2 x 400s, .... ?

 

[reedman]

Here's what I would do for your lighing:

Get 3 luminarc LIII's and 3 250W MHs of your color choice.

Build a shell for a canopy with an open top for ventilation and sides to prevent the unsightly LIII's from showing, plus to stop light from escaping.

You can run VHO, T5, or PC around the frame of the canopy for supplemental lighting and collect all of the wires into a bundle to come down through the center of the tank (if you wanted that), or through a small side panel.

This would give you great covereage, ensure coral placement almost anywhere in the tank for almost anything, and be reasonably well contained in an eye-appealing enclosure.

My 2 cents

 

[fishermann]

Reed What do you think of going with 2-400's since his tank is only 60" long. but 30" deep. That is what I would do with the luminarcs he well get plenty of coverage and have one less reflector, ballast,bulb to replace and probably about the same amount of heat.

Dragoneggs how many cross braces do you have on your euro top, if just one in the center, two lights well shine down through it instead of on top of the acrylic.

 

[dragoneggs]

Hi Reed,

Thanks for your input! Here is what I am thinking now...

I assume the 3 250s will give more even coverage than the 2 400s but will they be as effective at the tank bottom? What I am getting for the extra cost?

As far as cost: The 3 250s will cost more up front and in bulb replacement than 2 400s if I am figuring right. The electricity cost seems like a wash.

$130 for the extra reflector and an additional bulb at each replacement cylce which I figure will be about $60 or so discounting the cost of not getting the 400s. I haven't figured the ballast costs yet.

I do not understand the ballast situation though. Do I need a ballast for each? What is the best way to go about this? Also what recommendations for type of ballast, electronic/magnetic? Placement (in the tank stand or below the floor)? I am looking to make this tank silent as possible too!

 

[moortim]

So now I have a related question.
Since we are talking about luminarcs I figured this fit the discussion.
Where do you buy them? I have looked around on-line and haven't found much. Does anyone have links to good places to purchase them?

Tim

 

[Scooterman]

I assume the 3 250s will give more even coverage than the 2 400s but will they be as effective at the tank bottom?

Dood 3 250's in a 24" deep tank is all you need, we were comparing the needs to a 30" deep tank in the other thread, big difference. Also like I posted there if you get the 14k's you loose a lot of PAR, instead supplement with actinic fluorescents & you will get great color!

 

[Slickdonkey]

You'll need a ballast for each bulb.

I got some of these DIY ballasts from a local reefer, they're nice and cheap if you don't mind some wiring.

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.pacificgardensupply.com/default.asp

for the LIII's

 

[fishermann]

I would use Magnetic and place them below the floor if you have that option, any ballast emitt alot of heat although magnetic less. you need a ballast for each light. IMO 2 of the normal size luminarc's well give you great coverage. How many braces does your tank have in the center? You don't want the lites shining right on top of them if you can help it. UV light is hard on acrylic.

 

[dragoneggs]

My tank is just about to start being built now. The cross bracing can be changed. I was planning one in the middle and two 250 MH but it is flexible.

Now we are contemplating 2 vs 3 fixtures. As far as aquascaping (another issue!) I am thinking of two mounds each a third of the way in. Again this is a island tank with 4 sided viewing. I am concerned about hiding as much plumbing as possible and still get great flow!

I know this is an ambitous pursuit and hence why I am jabbering to you all about this. I do undestand the design of tank/lights/plumbing/filteration is intertwined and my requirements for a silent, invisible system are making it a challenge:doubt:

 

[dragoneggs]

Dood 3 250's in a 24" deep tank is all you need, we were comparing the needs to a 30" deep tank in the other thread, big difference. Also like I posted there if you get the 14k's you loose a lot of PAR, instead supplement with actinic fluorescents & you will get great color!

My tank is 60 by 24 by 30. I originally planned on a 24in deep tank but my girlfriend thought the viewing and proportions would be much better going to a 30in deep. Good thing I have long arms!:lol:

 

[moortim]

http://www.pacificgardensupply.com/default.asp

for the LIII's

Thanks Scooter!

Tim