33 Long Build

[AZ Burns]

Hello,

I want to set up a 33 long I have as a reef. I want to stick to small softies like polyps, zoas, mushrooms, and ricordea. I could see one or two smaller, undemanding LPS corals as well.

I do have a limitation I need to work around. I have two extremely persistent and destructive cats. I pretty much have to have a canopy on the tank, so I am trying to figure out lighting to fit in an Aqueon pine canopy. I love the Kessil LED shimmer.

My thought is to use a 2x 48" 54w T5HO retrofit and 3x Kessil A80 spaced evenly over the tank, all inside the hood. I would think I would need to add a ventilation fan or two to the hood.

Any thoughts on this solution? It seems like it should be plenty of light for undemanding corals, and give me the shimmer effect I really like from Kessils.

Thanks for any feedback,
AZ

 

[cbourg]

I have 2 goosenecks and a brand new controller if interested


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[HumbleFish]

I would just hang a black box inside the canopy: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=black+box+LED&i=pets&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

It will stay cool, grow the corals you wanna grow and is future proof if you ever decide you want more demanding corals.

 

[AZ Burns]

cbourg,

How close to the top of the tank can you get the A80s with goosenecks?

I like the idea of them but, from videos I have seen, it looks like they aren't very flexible and I would be concerned they wouldn't fit under the canopy. There is only about 5" of clearance between the rim of the tank and the "ceiling" of the canopy. In most videos, it looked like the goose necks were 6+ inches up from the rim, and didn't have enough flex to go lower, but that is difficult to gauge accurately.

Humblefish,

That looks like a very economical option. I really dislike the disco flicker of LED systems like that though, just a personal taste thing. I am going to do my very best to not get into more demanding corals. I want to own a reef tank, not be owned by one. Luckily, all the corals I find most interesting are soft corals, and the ones I find next most interesting are LPS.

 

[cbourg]

You can probably get them to within 4" to the top of the tank

Issue would be the height of the loop...I don't believe it would fit under. 5" canopy

Made more for a setup without a top


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[AZ Burns]

I am thinking about two Tunze 6040's for circulation. I will be drilling the tank for a herbie overflow with a 10g sump, but don't plan on having a ton of flow from the return pump, just something in the 150-200gph range.

It seems like Tunze's get a pretty good review by most and are supposed to be super quiet, and I like that they can be set to some kind of pulse for good water motion and can be mounted to the back of the tank and still get flow going directly at the middle.

The Maxspec Gyre and AI Nero look interesting too, but I am thinking a pump on each end might give me better coverage.

Thoughts?

 

[SantaMonica]

If the cats are the problem, you could just go open-top with bird netting on top, and then pendants become no problem.

 

[AZ Burns]

My biggest concern is actually them destroying the lights. If I could come up with an extremely solid mounting system with no cables exposed for the lights, maybe... I still would be concerned they would chew up the netting, fish out a Zoa and that would be the end of them.

They are Siamese, so they are mote persistent and mischievousness than your average cat.

 

[Sk8r]

Longtime cat person here. Siamese are not as iffy about water as some; salt may dissuade them, but they will persist. You could build a very lightweight canopy that simply sits down on the tank rim on its corner braces and is very lightly constructed (pine or the like) in small braces at corners. A couple of thin 1" boards for stiffening. A crossbrace to both shield the lights from cats and provide solidity, but otherwise no top. Top of canopy about 9-12 inches above the tank, so cats can't reach much. Hopefully the novelty will wear off fast, if all they get is wet salty fur.