danskim's 300g rimless starphire

Dan,
Can't wait to see how it turns out! I like the 150 build thread on WAMAS and CMAS alot. Haven't seen you there much, you should post this thread there too. Geofloors and miller both have large tanks from Glass cages, I've seen both and they look great. You shouldn't have a problem. I'll be tagging along.
 
Ok, I decided on 2 ATI Powermodul fixtures.
One 36" 8 bulb and one 48" 8 bulb. It's probably a bit narrow, but I can suspend it a little higher so there's more light spread.
I think I mentioned this in some other threads, but in my current 30" deep tank, I have my lower-PAR TekLight about 6" off the water surface, and my corals are growing like crazy. There are some SPS pieces on the sandbed including a montipora confusa (not that light hungry), a. formosa and p. damicornis.
 
Have you considered using a wavebox on the tank instead of a CL system? I find that one wavebox moves the water in my whole system very efficiently and effectively (no dead spots,) with a very natural motion. (Plus you don't need extra holes in the tank.) Combine it with your existing 6100s and I think you'll have plenty of current for the whole tank.
 
Yes, I am considering a Tunze wavebox...
I am just concerned about it lessening the life of a glass tank because of the pressure it puts on the seams with each wave.

For now, I am thinking 1 more 6101 or 6201 + 1 Vortech to start.
If I need more flow, I'll add another Vortech probably.
 
Oh yeah, I was a bit worried about the wave being too high, but I was assured in the Tunze forum that it wouldn't be a problem.
But since my tank will be rimless, it could cause me (or other viewers) to become seasick, so that is another deterrent.
 
Man, that sounds like a sweet tank. I look forward to seeing some pics.

How come you haven't made a thread for this new tank on CMAS yet?
 
Yeah, I intend to document as much as possible. I am starting the stand soon, but all the other stuff will take at least a few weeks to come in, so things will be a bit slow.
 
Sea sick? Never heard of that but I guess it could happen if you stare at the wave long enough (not sure why you would do this when there's a bunch of coral and fish to look at but who knows?)

The tank stress on the other hand is pretty darn hard to quantify and tehre's just no good answer to that one. Personally I think that Tunze is being way over-cautious to avoid litigation but who can say for sure? If you're worried about it the I agree that you should go another way but I wouldn't be drilling extra holes in the tank either then.

Of course, if you're really worried about it then I wouldn't buy a tank from them either, but maybe that's just because my wife would ban me from ever having an aquarium again if I flooded the house. :)
 
Yeah I'm leaving the possibility of getting the Wavebox open. Officially Tunze says it would lessen the life about 10-15%, which isn't that bad, but you may be right that they are just extra cautious.
 
I've never exactly figured out what the heck that's supposed to mean though. I mean really, a 10-15% reduction from an intangible length of time that varies greatly by environment, care, and manufacturing quality? That sounds suspiciously like a made-up number to me. Of course, if my tank busts out tonight I'm going to be really ****ed :) (knock on wood)
 
In what way were you disappointed?
It didn't seem to do anything? Or was it not worth the extra cost over a Stream?
 
Woohoo, so I ordered the lights, so they will be coming in a few weeks. I had the option of getting them shipped now, but I told ReefGeek to hold my lights and ship them when they get their new stock of ATI bulbs in because they are out of the ATI Blue Plus.

Here is my bulb configuration for each fixture...
3 - ATI Blue Plus
2 - ATI AquaBlue 12000K Special
1 - UVL AquaSun
1 - Sfiligoi Super Actinic 03
1 - GE 6500K
 
I had the same issues when I put together my 300g 5 years ago but I went with 72" length and 30" deep tank. The lighting logistics for a 96" light was just a bit more complicated at that time and you do have a lot more choices now. You would have to go with at least 5 bulbs to keep from getting darks spots if you want your tank fully lighted by fixed lights. That would be about $400 every 9-10 months for bulb changes not including the electric bill (rates are going up in MD if you have Pepco). I started with 5 lights on mine but cut down to 3 lights with a light mover to reduce my operation costs. This worked out really well since I've probably saved tons on replacement bulbs and electricity...and still able to keep any coral I want to.

The nice thing about a 96" length is more room for creative aquascaping. Just remember that your corals will cut down flow as they get larger and having spaces between rock islands really helps the colonies achieve nice natural shapes.

BTW, I live in Rockville and you are more than welcome to come by and look at the set up I have.
 
Yeah a MH setup with a light mover system would have been cool.
But it would have looked too industrial and messy without the use of a canopy or in-wall setup. Since my tank will be rimless, I need a neat looking fixture.

Thanks for the invite aurora. I still would like to come by and see it some day.
 
So I finalized my circulation. I bought another 6200 and 6212 (wavebox).
The ATI Powermodul 8 bulb fixtures are 17-18" wide. There's going to be about 12" of non-lighted area, although of course the light spread will be greater than just the fixture width.
To compensate, I'm thinking of going with either a series of clip-on HQI fixtures like the Coralife or JBJ Viper, or with 2-3 HQI spotlights made by Won Brothers.
 
Here's what I've done so far with the stand...

186803415-M.jpg

186803447-M-0.jpg


2x4s and 2x6s. Does it looks sturdy enough?

I also got an update on my tank. It's finished, but it just needs to cure then ship :)
 
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