48" Depth Tank

[Rajandra]

Hi,

Im having a 84"L x 36"W x 48"H (700g display with 150g sump). As you can note that the depth of my tank is 4 feet. Im having a tough time maintaining it especialy when it comes to arrangeing the coral at the bottom of the tank. Im also not sure if my clams and sps at the bottom getting enough light.
SO i would like hear from the hobbist who has a tank with this depth on how do they do the aquascaping and also what will be the best lighing option (LED, MH- watt/ color spectrum/ T5HO) so that it will penatrate all the way to the bottom of the tank.
Any additional information related to deep tank are also welcome.

Thank you for your input.

Tank spec:

Return Pump- 2x Eheim 1264
Skimmer- 1x Aqua medic Turboflotor Blue 3000
FR- Rowaphos reactor (about 500g media)
Calcium Reactor-With Milwaukee- MA957 CO2 Regulator and SMS122 pH Controller
Wave maker- 2 x seio m2600 and 2 x Tunze Turbelle Stream 6101 with Tunze Multicontroller 7095
Chiller- Resun with 1 hp outdoor compressor.
A.Scrubber (in sump)- double layer (18"L x 11" H- each) with 4x 24w T5HO and 4x 18W (6400K) daylight florescent at the center. (on for 18hrs/day)
3 x 400w 20KK MH.
2x 36" T5HO 6000K Midday Sun 39W by Giesemann
2x 36" T5HO 6000K Pure Actinic 39W by Giesemann
4x 36 Inch T5HO 6000K Aquablue Plus 39W by Giesemann

 

[attaboy]

Deep Tank

Deep Tank

You are in good company, Saxby has a 48" deep tank as well:

http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_jan/

 

[TheFishTeen]

Hmm. Pictures would help. From my experience with 48" deep tanks, it is important to have rear access. Do you?

 

[corpse_grinder0]

lets see some pics

 

[dave.m]

The tanks I have seen that are that deep are using 400 watt metal halide lighting (very hot, very power hungry, but very intense).

I do not know if any of the LED manufacturers have attempted to light such a deep tank yet. They seem to be working more to the 30-36" depth, but you would have to contact them individually to see what they have to offer. Yours is not a common size of tank, so your needs are a special case for them.

Cheers!

Dave.M

 

[mm949]

i keep my clams on the bottom....no issues, they grow 1/2" a month
i have 6 400w 12k reeflux that i swap out every six months, no other supplemental light

 

[Rajandra]

Thanks attaboy, gerat info.

 

[Rajandra]

The picture of my tank. There is no back access.

 

[7Reef]

I use 2 50w DIY led pendants ove the center part of my 84Lx30wx30h tank. Penetraits to the bottom no problem without optics. Actually overkill but the corals are doing fine. They make 80w and 100w leds too that would work for you.

 

[dzfish17]

Your tank looks great. Just so you know, and it doesnt really matter... your tank isnt quite 700g. According to my calculations it is around 630g on the outside and 590g on the inside... if you used 1/2 glass. Either way, its still a huge tank.

 

[dave.m]

Orphek says their DIF-100 pendent will replace a 400W MH bulb. Contact them for more info on which lens would meet your needs.

Dave.M

 

[JustinS]

Im looking into building a similar tank, except it will be 84x42x48 tall, and Im trying to figure out the same thing. I probably wont have sps all the way down, but I do want clams on the bottom. Orphek claims that their lights will support both sps and clams 48" down, but I dont really trust that. One thing I am thinking about is maybe in addition to lighting the tank with 5 or 6 orphek 156 fixtures, is to use one of the 100watt cannons with narrow optics to spotlight certain things on the bottom like the clams.