At last.....

[Tony44]

...I am actually able to start a thread in the large tank forums!!!

Just yesterday I bought a 375 gallon tank, all four viewable sides are starphire, the overflow is on the side; therefore, I will probably be setting this tank up as a peninsula if I have the space for it.

I am super excited to have this tank, I was looking around for something bigger than my 72 bowfront. I was going to buy a 48" 150 gallon, I then realized that it would actually cost more to buy the 150 new, then it would be to get my 375 used.

The tank measures 96"x30"x30". I plan to use a 75 gallon as a sump/refugium. I just recently bought a Reeflo Orca 200, obviously I will need something bigger for this 375, which kinda sucks cause I just got this skimmer 2 weeks ago. For flow I have two Tunze 6100's, the tank also is drilled for a closed loop system.

One question that I have for you guys is lighting. To me, a tank like this screams 4x400 MH. Should I even consider 4x250 watt MH? I want to keep everything. Also, what do you guys think about going with 16-20 T5 bulbs for this tank? Does anyone here run T5's on a tank this size?

Thanks, Tony.

 

[Jflip2002]

I think 4x400w is the way to go, on Lumen_____ reflectors. I think 250w would be an ok option, if you plan on doing mixed reef. Clams, LPS and softies would still do well on the bottom, but a lot of SPS wouldnt. With 400w, you can keep anything, anywhere (except too high). JMO, but Id get a couple 2x400 galaxy ballasts, with 20k radiums.

Id like to see some pics of this guy to come, good luck with the build.

 

[Tony44]

I appreciate the reply Jflip.

I definitely will get some pictures up sooner or later, I will probably make a build thread once I actually start setting this tank up. I wasn't really planning on having a tank this size, so there is lots of equipment that I still need to get. I plan to buy everything that I need over the next few months, and once I have everything the tank shall be born.

Is this the Galaxy ballast that you are talking about?

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/galaxy-400w-120v240v-electronic-ballast-p-1985.html

 

[GlassReef]

The lighting you'll need depends on what you plan to keep. I'll assume SPS. If your tank is 30" tall, you're gonna have about 27-28" of water depth. You could get away with 4 X 250W, but you'd be happier in the long run with 4 X 400W. As for T5s - I don't see you being successful with a 28" water depth, no matter how many bulbs you squeeze in.

 

[mflamb]

I would use 400s unless you are a DSB fan which takes away about 6 inches of your tank depth, then 250s will be ok.

 

[Haffs09]

I'm setting up a similar sized tank (94"x 30"x30") and I plan on running 2 x 400W halides in lumenarc III reflectors on a light mover. Hopefully, I'll have it up and running in 2-3 months. The tank will probably start off as a mixed reef.

 

[Jflip2002]

Yep, The Green Galaxy ballast is the ballast to use for radiums. Just make sure you get an electronic one really. I had a magnetic, and really hated the limitations to what bulbs you could run. Cant run Radiums, ushio, megachrome, reeflux, and a few others, with magnetic ballasts. Ice caps are always a nice choice, also. I have an ice cap 400w over my 36x36x20, running a 20k radium. I love that color combo also.

250w wouldnt be a bad choice though, if you want to keep it a mixed reef. Youd just only be able to keep SPS mid level (montis and milles) and upper(everything else), while you have lps, softies, and clams on the sandbed.

So really, its just a matter of what you wish to keep.

 

[Tony44]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14516960#post14516960 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Haffs09
I'm setting up a similar sized tank (94"x 30"x30") and I plan on running 2 x 400W halides in lumenarc III reflectors on a light mover. Hopefully, I'll have it up and running in 2-3 months. The tank will probably start off as a mixed reef.

Awesome, will your tank be in wall, peninsula, or just normal?

I also want plan to have a mixed reef.

If you don't mind me asking, what is a light mover?

 

[Haffs09]

Check out this site for more info Light mover

I'm eager to try it out. If it works as planned, I'll be able to get away with using 2 400W bulbs rather than 4.

The tank was designed for use as a peninsula, but I'm placing it in the corner of my living room. Check out my gallery for a couple of pics.

 

[Haffs09]

Take two...

Take two...

Try again

 

[Tony44]

That seems interesting. Do you know how much something like that costs? I might want to try something like that, it wouldn't look as nice as 4x400, but it would save me a lot of money considering I might not need a chiller.

 

[Mr.Biggs]

I have two types of light movers that I will be using on my system.

One of the movers is the light rail 3.5. It works well and is very quiet. They come in two speeds. I got mine used off of eBay for about $100 + shipping.

It will put shadows in the tank as it moves and some may not like this. I don't know how it is for growing coral as I don't have it in operation on a tank yet.

It should make better use of the light, but it would be reasonable to assume that the corals will not grow as fast because less watts generally will = less growth.

Do you plan on growing sps on the sand bed? are you going to use supplemental lighting or just MH?

 

[Haffs09]

I think brand new, the light rail 3.5 runs around $220. Every now and then you'll see one available in the for sale forum, but they typically don't last very long. I never looked on ebay....might be a good place to start.

 

[Bax]

I just got the same sized tank too. It has a large center overflow and two cross bracess. So, I am planning to use two 400s in LA IIIs left and right and a LA mini in the center I am on the fence about using a 400 or a 250 in the center.

For ballasts, I am leaning toward the Galaxys or Ice Cap.

I am really tempted to try a Light Rail & just run the 2 x LA IIIs. Heat, is a big issue fro me. The electric costs of less ligth and chiller operation would be nice too.

Can't wait to see what you do with this beast!

 

[Tony44]

I really do not have intentions of placing SPS in the sand. Basically, this tank does not need to be a coral farm. As long as I can keep SPS throughout most areas of the tank, and they keep their color and they grow, then I am happy. I will look around for the light mover, Ebay is always a good place for everything.

I really don't think it will cause to much of a shadow in the tank. If the mover is long enough I would would like to put 2x400 on the mover and space the bulbs two feet away from each other. If the moved is not long enough then I would like to get two movers and have one 400 watt MH on both sides. I think with that setup it will not make to big of a shadow. For now I plan on running just the MH, no supplement lighting.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14528924#post14528924 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr.Biggs
I have two types of light movers that I will be using on my system.

One of the movers is the light rail 3.5. It works well and is very quiet. They come in two speeds. I got mine used off of eBay for about $100 + shipping.

It will put shadows in the tank as it moves and some may not like this. I don't know how it is for growing coral as I don't have it in operation on a tank yet.

It should make better use of the light, but it would be reasonable to assume that the corals will not grow as fast because less watts generally will = less growth.

Do you plan on growing sps on the sand bed? are you going to use supplemental lighting or just MH?

 

[Tony44]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14529729#post14529729 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Haffs09
I think brand new, the light rail 3.5 runs around $220. Every now and then you'll see one available in the for sale forum, but they typically don't last very long. I never looked on ebay....might be a good place to start.

Just looked on Ebay, looks like you can get them for about $150 new.

 

[Tony44]

Same here, I really want to try and avoid using a chiller. I live in Florida so I don't really see that happening, but I know that with 4x400 MH I will need a chiller, with this light mover thing I think I might get away without using a chiller. Fortunately the canopy in my tank has no top to it, I wondered why it was like that at first, but now I actually like it because I think it would make the MH lamps run cooler.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14529764#post14529764 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bax
I just got the same sized tank too. It has a large center overflow and two cross bracess. So, I am planning to use two 400s in LA IIIs left and right and a LA mini in the center I am on the fence about using a 400 or a 250 in the center.

For ballasts, I am leaning toward the Galaxys or Ice Cap.

I am really tempted to try a Light Rail & just run the 2 x LA IIIs. Heat, is a big issue fro me. The electric costs of less ligth and chiller operation would be nice too.

Can't wait to see what you do with this beast!

 

[Mr.Biggs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14539700#post14539700 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tony44
I really do not have intentions of placing SPS in the sand. Basically, this tank does not need to be a coral farm. As long as I can keep SPS throughout most areas of the tank, and they keep their color and they grow, then I am happy. I will look around for the light mover, Ebay is always a good place for everything.

I really don't think it will cause to much of a shadow in the tank. If the mover is long enough I would would like to put 2x400 on the mover and space the bulbs two feet away from each other. If the moved is not long enough then I would like to get two movers and have one 400 watt MH on both sides. I think with that setup it will not make to big of a shadow. For now I plan on running just the MH, no supplement lighting.

Tony44, I think that that's a good plan.

You will get shadows in the tank with a light mover as the lights move back and forth. It just the way they work. The mover will also hit areas of the coral that it would not with out a mover though. I have some raw video fotage of what I'm talking about, but I need to edit it and get it on the computer first.

I would suggest that you go with the lighting like Hass09 has mentioned the 2 x 400 with mover. This will give you the biggest bang for your $$.

The lighting setup that Jflip2002 has suggested is a good one for a single bulb with no supplementation.

I would place the bulbs 30" apart measured center to center and use a full size lumenarc reflector as they tend spread the light out more. Set the movement up for 6"- 10" in both directions off of center. This will give you 12" - 20" of total movement and will depend on how close to the glass you would like the rocks and coral to be on the ends.

This setup should give you 800W of light and the center section (60" in the middle of the tank) should be able to grow any sps you wish to keep from top to bottom.

With out the mover I would do a 4 x 250W for a total of 1000W.
This would let you grow most sps from wall to wall on the top 2/3 of the tank.

 

[rlxwcapt]

I would suggest 3 lights. 2- 400w and 1- 250w. That way you can play around with different corals in different locations. You will get a better spread.

 

[rlxwcapt]

I saw that you where going to sell your old skimmer. What a great skimmer. I can't believe the price. I noticed that they are not offering the 250 any more. what's going on with the skimmers. does your skimmer have the gold series pump?