Has anyone seen this done before?

[yongpanda]

I was considering a very long tank that's pretty narrow. maybe to the dimensions of 36"x8"x9" and wondered if anyone in this forums has ever tried to light only one side of an aquarium to recreate half the tank as being lit and bright as the other half being dark.

pics will help!

 

[Johnny C]

Are you referring to the Mr. Aqua 12G tank?

Somewhere here on RC there's a member who had a similar aquarium mounted to his wall and it looked awesome.

 

[Soultwater]

I was considering a very long tank that's pretty narrow. maybe to the dimensions of 36"x8"x9" and wondered if anyone in this forums has ever tried to light only one side of an aquarium to recreate half the tank as being lit and bright as the other half being dark.

pics will help!

Why wouldn't you want to see all of it?

 

[ChadTheSpike]

No, but I am interested in seeing what you come up with.

I remember a few years back the 'wall aquariums' flopped (still see ads or pictures of them from time to time, but haven't seen one in a store in a long time). They were aesthetically pleasing, but logistical nightmares.

Before you actually do it, make sure that you have plans for where all your life support stuff will go and how you are going to keep it trim. Also, adequate flow from one side of the tank to the other may be difficult, make sure that you have a plan for this as well.

I like the idea, it sounds interesting to me and I can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Edit: One more thing, make your stocking list now and design the rest of the system around their needs. Your fish will have to have a pretty small maximum size, like citron gobies or something like that.

 

[username in use]

I would go bare bottom, all sps with a pair of t5 tubes and your return and an mp40 on one short side with the overflow on the other short side.

 

[LilRobb]

Those suspended space-quariums have those dims...

 

[goldmaniac]

who remembers that build, that really nice build, of an acrylic tank that was 12" x 12" x about 8' or 10' or 12'? the guy was very very patient and very detailed (lots of pics) in his Build thread.
at one point in the thread, he took a break and took some pics of him refinishing some wood steps going down into the (basement?) room with the tank. Really nice woodworking on the tank and the steps.

 

[yongpanda]

What i'm trying to say is yes the mr.aqua 12 gallon 3' long tank. i only wanted to like spotlight effect on one side of the aquarium with minimal rockwork an have the other end just dark without much light. i thought this would give a really deep kinda of sensation.

 

[Johnny C]

I think that you could DEF create that effect with the Mr. Aqua tank and a few Par38 LEDS, sounds very cool!

 

[robs.mark]

I think that would be a bad idea regarding the lighting. On one side of the tank you would have heaps of growth, on the other you would struggle to grow much other than sun corals. How would you achieve this effect? Even a 150w mh would give you light over 36".. I think the tank size would be good, though i think it would have to be set up as 'usernameinuse' suggested.

 

[robs.mark]

Ahh LED'S of corse! my bad!

 

[v3pulsar]

i have done this!
i had bright red light on one side. which used to be on for 3-4 hrs..all other lights would be switched off at the same time!..and trust me it looks beautiful. added benefit of macro algae which is good,.! and in moderation.!

 

[yongpanda]

I am trying to make a scene where on one side you have a lushious mini mix reef with a fish or two with a shrimp while you have the dark mysterious unkown scene on the other side of the tank which i could use to put an overflow or mp10 to create waves.

The par 38 leds sound great as a source of a spot light. sounds liek a plan. which one should i get considering that i want a tint of blue yet not deep blue since the rest of the tank will be pitch black

 

[Johnny C]

Personally, I think the 20K would look sweet... especially if you fade it into a darker end. You MUST post pics if you do it!

 

[ChadTheSpike]

I think this is a cool idea... It seems like those who think of creative ways to add the element of light to a tank always end up with some really cool and dramatic looking tanks!

Go for it!! And post pics!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

My 12 gallon Desktop Nano has *some* of the features you're looking for....

The T5 fixture is retrofitted with ReefBrite LEDs which are angled to light only the very top of the tank. The reverse side is much lower PAR for a Zoa garden. Sorry, I'm just beginning work on the reverse side - no photos yet.