Chihuahua6
Premium Member
Beautiful tank. I agree, the molding makes it appear taller giving it balance. If it were done without the molding I think it would look too long and skinny.
Deep tank owners
- Thread starter Harleyguy
- Start date
spazz
New member
because of the depth of the tank it will look better being 36" tall. it will look alot more proportional. you can have your rock work alot different when you have the height to do it.
it may be harder to maintain the tank but with a little creativity you can make it as easy as posable to work on it.
jnarowe
New member
Mine is 8' x 5' x 33" (water line) and it is tough to clean. BUT, if you install it with a lot of thought, you can make things easier on yourself. Having said that, I think this depth is a problem. Deeper and you can get in, shallower and you can reach everything. So it is a difficult depth to work with.
I would build the tank room with maximum access to the tank, no exceptions. A full catwalk all the way around for sure. Also you need to provision for cleaning the front pane, whether that be access from the front, or some sort of movable catwalk over the tank. I use a plank across the top of my tank and lay on it to clean the glass and aquascape.
Make sure the tank has MASSIVE eurobracing so that it can hold your weight easily. Mine is 2" thick.
As far as lighting goes, if you use 400W MH lamps, you will need at least 14 of them. I use 1000W lamps on movers. Keep in mind not just the electrical costs, but also the lamp replacement costs. Because I have just 3 x 1000W lamps, it costs $450/year for replacements. With 400W lamps, you could easily double or triple that cost.
I really like the idea of a reef-top aquascape, but keep in mind that until your corals grow out, it will look like crap.
I would build the tank room with maximum access to the tank, no exceptions. A full catwalk all the way around for sure. Also you need to provision for cleaning the front pane, whether that be access from the front, or some sort of movable catwalk over the tank. I use a plank across the top of my tank and lay on it to clean the glass and aquascape.
Make sure the tank has MASSIVE eurobracing so that it can hold your weight easily. Mine is 2" thick.
As far as lighting goes, if you use 400W MH lamps, you will need at least 14 of them. I use 1000W lamps on movers. Keep in mind not just the electrical costs, but also the lamp replacement costs. Because I have just 3 x 1000W lamps, it costs $450/year for replacements. With 400W lamps, you could easily double or triple that cost.
I really like the idea of a reef-top aquascape, but keep in mind that until your corals grow out, it will look like crap.
jnarowe
New member
There are a few light movers out there but I use the Light Rail 3.5. This moves my lamps front-to-back with a delay at each end. That way I can use powerful lamps but move the light so corals don't get too much.
The results have been very good. Strong coral growth and anemones very happy to stay on the bottom of the tank.
The results have been very good. Strong coral growth and anemones very happy to stay on the bottom of the tank.
jnarowe
New member
Not exactly. I use MORE wattage per lamp but spread it out for a total of less wattage. For instance, a like sized tank would need about 14 x 400W lamps = 5,600W and I use 3 x 1000W = 3000W total. But, because the lamps are so powerful, they cannot be closer to the acrylic. In fact, my bracing breaks the tank into three sections, and each open section has a lamp over it. These lamps are so powerful that they have charred some PVC pipe.
And anotherinteresting note is that I cool my tank with blowers. No chiller here
And anotherinteresting note is that I cool my tank with blowers. No chiller here
reefkoi
Premium Member
I have to use tongs for most everything in my 30" tank anyways, so why not go another 6" you'll be tonging everything anyways!
I'd love to have a 36" depth. I run three 1,000 watt bulbs in my 600, I'd consider them for your setup.
The ballast, lumenarc reflectors and helios bulbs are the same cost as their 400 watt brothers and you'll only need half the amout of them versus 400's) so its a heck of a lot cheaper than 400's FYI.
It's funny, I was at the downtown denver aquarium the other day and they run 1,000 watters on about a 7 foot deep tank with acros near the bottom and acros right at the top with only maybe a foot between them and a 1K bulb! all the corals looked great.
I think 1K's are going to be more common in the next few years on bigger tanks (300+) remember a few years ago when 250's were all the rage now 400's are very very common, 1K's are next.
I'd love to have a 36" depth. I run three 1,000 watt bulbs in my 600, I'd consider them for your setup.
The ballast, lumenarc reflectors and helios bulbs are the same cost as their 400 watt brothers and you'll only need half the amout of them versus 400's) so its a heck of a lot cheaper than 400's FYI.
It's funny, I was at the downtown denver aquarium the other day and they run 1,000 watters on about a 7 foot deep tank with acros near the bottom and acros right at the top with only maybe a foot between them and a 1K bulb! all the corals looked great.
I think 1K's are going to be more common in the next few years on bigger tanks (300+) remember a few years ago when 250's were all the rage now 400's are very very common, 1K's are next.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11449414#post11449414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Not exactly. I use MORE wattage per lamp but spread it out for a total of less wattage. For instance, a like sized tank would need about 14 x 400W lamps = 5,600W and I use 3 x 1000W = 3000W total. But, because the lamps are so powerful, they cannot be closer to the acrylic. In fact, my bracing breaks the tank into three sections, and each open section has a lamp over it. These lamps are so powerful that they have charred some PVC pipe.
And anotherinteresting note is that I cool my tank with blowers. No chiller here
wow, very cool
I need to go back and re read your tank build thread
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