I am finally going BIG!!

[moortim]

I recently aquired a 180gal full setup with a huge amount of extra goodies. As you can all imagine I have a one track mind right now.
I am currently trying to formulate an image in my mind of how I want this system to look and I would like all of your help with it.

First let me describe to you what I have.
The tank is a Tenacor acrylic 180 with dual overflows, it uses a 30gal sump, an aquac EV-180 skimmer run by a little giant pump, Dolphin return pump and closed loop pump (I don't know models I will have to get that later), the closed loop output is through two 3/4 inch sea swirls and a couple other fixed outputs, the lighting is using two 36" PFO parallel reflectors with four 400 watt bulbs and 4 36" VHO actinics, and an Aqua Logic 1/3 hp chiller. I am sure I left some out but I can get to that later, I must also appologize for the lack of pictures I do not own a digital camera so pictures are hard to come by, I will have to work on that.

OK, my first issue is that I am planning on becoming poor in the next 6 months do to a major change in college so the only way this tank will work is if I can minimize it's power consumption...within reason.

I'll start with the lights, do I really need 4 x 400watt halides over this tank? I want to keep clams, sps, and lps once I get it all setup but I have no problem keeping the higher lighting species closer to the lights however I don't want to be limited in what I keep. One of the problems is there are only two openings in the top of the tank and the center brace is quite large so I can't have three perpendicular reflectors on top of the tank. Here is what I had in mind, tell me what you think, two 400watt bulbs in two luminarc III or A3 reflectors over the two openings. My canopy is 18 inches high so I don't think size will be a problem, I can mount the reflectors lower if needed, I also want to get rid of the actinics and just run bluer bulbs. Are two bulbs too few for this big of a tank? Let me know what you think ideal lighting would be for a somewhat energy efficient setup, the openings for the top of the tank are approx 17" x 22".
I will start with this for now and add the rest later, thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Tim

 

[DonW]

I would just go one bulb for every 2ft of tank length. I agree, I'd ditch the actinics just more to take care of.

Don

 

[jezzeaepi]

What are the dimensions of your tank? Probably one of the biggest determining factors for lighting.

 

[moortim]

Sorry, I knew I would leave things out. The tank is 6'x2'x2', I want to do 1 bulb per two feet of tank but I have a huge center brace with the sea swirls in it, if I moved them to the back of the tank can/should I have a bulb over the brace?

 

[ronj]

i don't think that 400w bulbs are necessarry in that tank..that will just be more heat..250w bulbs should do the job...also, if you go with 2 bulbs, i would mount them both towards the center,maybe mount each one about a foot away from the center mark of the tank keeping in mind what Don said....they will at least be strong enough in the middle of the tank to keep everything that you want....also, is the center brace a glass brace???? if so, i would mount a bulb over it and also put a bulb on each end..it will definately be better with 3 bulbs

 

[moortim]

I would love to do three bulbs, the center brace is acrylic, would it be bad on the material to have that much light over it?

 

[ronj]

not sure..i have a fairly thick glass center brace..i put a 250w bulb directly over mine...i would assume yours would be fine as well..

 

[moortim]

I am worried about the light and heat ageing the acrylic and weakening it, what do you think?

 

[Brenden]

I would also do 250's instead of 400w. I know my acrylic tank says the warranty is void if MH lights are closer thn 6" from the acrylic.

 

[Krish]

Congrats again on the tank Tim!!! That's a biggie coming from a nano On the lights, I agree with just the halides...No need for actinics when they have higher kelvin rated bulbs that can give you all the blue you seek. As for the brace, it could be a problem then again, it could be just fine. The main issues I think would be if the brace can withstand the heat of a halide (which I'm sure it could spaced enough away) but also, how clear the acrylic is for light to travel through. I'd personally say as well go with 1 bulb per 2ft of tank space as well and if the center poses a problem, just put the more the light demanding corals on the outer edges of the brace. However, I still think you will be fine

Good luck man!

 

[moortim]

I would also do 250's instead of 400w. I know my acrylic tank says the warranty is void if MH lights are closer thn 6" from the acrylic.

Depending on the reflector I choose I think I can mount the bulb as much as 12" above the acrylic and I will have fans blowing accross the surface. Thanks though I didn't think of checking with the mfg, I will have to look into that one.

 

[moortim]

Congrats again on the tank Tim!!! That's a biggie coming from a nano
Good luck man!

Thanks man, I think my nano just lost some of its attention,especially since it will soon become a quarantine tank.

 

[Krish]

LOL! I know what you mean man...

 

[IAP Brian]

I am worried about the light and heat ageing the acrylic and weakening it, what do you think?

U should worry. I don't recommend putting a 400w over the center brace. It will overheat and cause problems with the acrylic. The distortion in the material will also pretty much kill the whole point of using a 400w in the first place. You could all ways put in 2 offset braces and cut out the center one.

 

[moortim]

U should worry. I don't recommend putting a 400w over the center brace. It will overheat and cause problems with the acrylic. The distortion in the material will also pretty much kill the whole point of using a 400w in the first place. You could all ways put in 2 offset braces and cut out the center one.

I really need to get some pictures of the tank so I can describe my next question but how would I do that? I wouldn't have a problem cutting out the existing center brace but how would I know how wide to make the other two braces? could I weld them in place on top of the piece that is on top of the tank? I appologize if this doesn't make sense, I will try and get some pictures taken soon.

 

[moortim]

By the way I am planning on using 250 watt halides with lumenarc reflectors.

 

[IAP Brian]

Any mod to the tank will void the warranty, if you have one. That being said, yes you can weld the pieces to the top. Either on top or under the top. If you want to use 40 and some masking tape you can also put them even with the top. A bunch of wet sanding and no one will know it wasn't like that in the first place.

The two replacement braces don't need to be very wide. They are there to keep the front and back panels from bowing out. Around 4" would work fine. There is a chance of crazing the top of the tank if you do weld on it. Tenecor uses a hydrogen/ oxygen torch for flame polishing. It is a lot less stress than map gas but there is still the risk of crazing. However, it is going to craze anyway with halide over the brace so in the long run it doesn't particularly matter.

Reducing to the 250 watt will help. Keep the halide well above the acrylic and good air flow is important as well.

 

[IAP Brian]

I really don't mean to rain on your parade, I love the 5 x 2 x 2, 180gal tank. I just wanted to let you know what to look out for. Another option would be to replace the top all together. Then you can still have a one piece top but make the cut-outs into 3 sections. If you make the top with thicker material it will help out with the halides.

 

[moortim]

Any mod to the tank will void the warranty. If you want to use 40 and some masking tape you can also put them even with the top.

This is a used tank so I don't think I have a warranty, what is 40?

There is a chance of crazing the top of the tank if you do weld on it.

Sorry for my ignorance, what is crazing?

 

[moortim]

I really don't mean to rain on your parade, I love the 5 x 2 x 2, 180gal tank. I just wanted to let you know what to look out for. Another option would be to replace the top all together. Then you can still have a one piece top but make the cut-outs into 3 sections. If you make the top with thicker material it will help out with the halides.

It's all good man, I love a little diy work so I have no problem moding this tank to make it what I want, this whole thing is a dream come true so I don't mind spending a little more time with it.

The whole tank has a frame that is about 4" wide around the top, do I even need a center brace?