hey guys, i own an aquatic maintenance business and today i got a really cool project... in what is probably the nicest home i've ever personally seen there are a pair of 270 gallon custom ******* acrylic tanks in an archway and they were setup over a year ago but poorly maintained and now i've been hired to make these tanks something worthy of the home they're in.... several things are going to be limiting factors here however... the tanks are very very deep... 4 feet deep i believe and there is no possible way to reach the bottom.. they're about 24-30" wide and long i believe so they're essentially like large columns on each side of the archway.. i'll try to post a picture after tomorrow when i go back but anyway they each have a hanging pendant Halide fixture (not sure the wattage yet) and underneath they have custom made sumps with the largest Coralife Super Skimmer and some chemical media.. they're both full to the top with Fiji live rock... not much coralline is left though.. at any rate, i'm mainly looking for recommendations for lighting for such an extremely deep tank with very little space to squeeze lights in and also recommendations for acrylic algae magnets for such a large tank since i can't even come close to reaching the bottom of the tank.. i'm looking towards the floating great white magnets or either one of the larger magnavore's.. any preferences there? they really want corals in the tanks but i'm worried that it may not be possible given the depth and dimensions and lighting challenges.. any thoughts there? this is basically going to be a challenge to make it work but money is no option so it should be something that's doable.. i'd love to hear thoughts and opinions about this..
large tank project.. need recommendations
- Thread starter clownt33
- Start date
RonMidtownStomp
You can edit this?
I'd love to see the pictures.
Does anyone know of a good 1000W bulb that is a good reef color?
Sounds like you need the right long tongs, super magnet cleaner, and long handled scraper. Scratching it's going to be scary, though.
What are they doing for flow, now?
Ron
Does anyone know of a good 1000W bulb that is a good reef color?
Sounds like you need the right long tongs, super magnet cleaner, and long handled scraper. Scratching it's going to be scary, though.
What are they doing for flow, now?
Ron
Reeflux makes a 1000w bulb though I do not have any experience with that bulb at that wattage, there are several light rail users on RC and you can google online, however your customer can probably afford several lights, so no need for a light rail, I'm always in the economy mode 
wld1783
Premium Member
I'd avoid the 1000watt lights. Too hard to find and too much heat.
Heat is always issue. I stagger my lights so they are all on only for four hours. This simulates high noon and saves a lot on bulb replacement as I rotate them based on time.
Ozone...A lot of debate here but it does clear up the water and allows light to penetrate deeper.
I would definantly do 2 400 watt over 1 1000 watt as the par on a pair of reeflux 400 watt 12Ks beats the par on some 1000 watters. Sorry I have no experience with the reflux 1000 watt
Bill
Heat is always issue. I stagger my lights so they are all on only for four hours. This simulates high noon and saves a lot on bulb replacement as I rotate them based on time.
Ozone...A lot of debate here but it does clear up the water and allows light to penetrate deeper.
I would definantly do 2 400 watt over 1 1000 watt as the par on a pair of reeflux 400 watt 12Ks beats the par on some 1000 watters. Sorry I have no experience with the reflux 1000 watt
Bill
alright so this will give you a better idea of the situation... right now it is setup with 1 400 watt and 2 32 watt actinics on each tank.... space is definitely a concern as is heat.. the sump is also very minimal in terms of space so it's definitely an issue as far as fitting a chiller in there.. the opening of the tank at the top is very small also so managing anything inside the tank is going to be extremely difficult.. also the acrylic is 2".. will the largest magnavore be able to handle that? thanks for all the suggestions guys.. here is what i'm dealing with..
wld1783
Premium Member
With that sump a FOWLR is the best option. You'll need to focus on coral that like dirty water.
Heat is a major concern. 1 400 whatt might work just make it high PAR 10K XM or 12K Reeflux. Add some T5s and run the MH for 6 hours. T5s for 14 hours. this will keep the heat down and still have nice light for viewing.
This will work for most softies and LPS. Focus on frogspawn and torch as they will grow well in low light provided they are fed. No flake. Quality frozen, also Ca and Alk additions need to be addressed. This with mushrooms and polyps will be great.
As far as size I've donated 50 head pieces to the Shedd. This was after only 3 years of growth. Split the pieces up epoxy them well and it should fill out well in a year or so.
The system needs a larger sump nutrient export will be a problem. Maybe some Halmedia in the display will help with that.
Bill
Heat is a major concern. 1 400 whatt might work just make it high PAR 10K XM or 12K Reeflux. Add some T5s and run the MH for 6 hours. T5s for 14 hours. this will keep the heat down and still have nice light for viewing.
This will work for most softies and LPS. Focus on frogspawn and torch as they will grow well in low light provided they are fed. No flake. Quality frozen, also Ca and Alk additions need to be addressed. This with mushrooms and polyps will be great.
As far as size I've donated 50 head pieces to the Shedd. This was after only 3 years of growth. Split the pieces up epoxy them well and it should fill out well in a year or so.
The system needs a larger sump nutrient export will be a problem. Maybe some Halmedia in the display will help with that.
Bill
yeah, the space is the biggest issue... i didn't even think of using T5's.. those will be a great addition.. the depth of this tank is close to 4' so it's going to be tough with any lighting to get anything growing more than about halfway down.. mainly they just want the tank to be colorful so if i could even get the coralline growing that would be a drastic improvement.. it was setup by the local fish store and then it wasn't really maintained at all for the last year or two... these pics were taken from my first visit where i was called to fix a leak in the sump and now i've been asked to make the tank beautiful.. i'm thinking of adding something like a vortec for circulation inside the tank.. either that or one of the Tunze pumps.. .i'm still trying to figure out exactly what i'm going to do with it.. again, thanks for the input..
so today i ordered a magnavore 10 as it was the largest magnet i could find..... i'm also going to add some T5's to help with lighting.. i'm thinking it could be a unique oppurtunity to add some non-photosynthetic creatures down towards the bottom like sponges and such and put lower light corals in the top half of the tank.. as for flow, i need to be able to increase the flow without detracting from the appearance of the tank so i was thinking something like a vortec would fit into the overflow and be a good solution for that with its high flow rates and fairly small space inside the actual tank.. the problem i may have with the vortec however could be the thickness of the acrylic... i'm also thinking of adding possibly a calcium reactor and a phosphate reactor but i'm not sure if that will be a possibility with the space issues..
wld1783
Premium Member
In my 500 gal 30"deep I'm running 250 watt MH and my sotfies are going nuts. Even in the shaded areas I have mushrooms growing. If you keep the water clear, you should be able to have LPS and some softies all the way down.
A 2 part doser like B-ionic will take up less space than a reactor.
Bill
i'm currently replacing the bulbs and adding some T-5s to the tank.. these are the ones i've found.. have you guys had any experience with these fixtures? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19759
also i'm thinking of putting 2 of these on each tank if i can get away with it spacewise... i was thinking of mixing a 10,000K and a 12000 K in each one to supplement the 400w 10,000k halide.. what do you guys think?
btw, the Magnavore 10 is a BEAST... i can't believe how well it handles the 2" acrylic.. even with the curved edges..
also i'm thinking of putting 2 of these on each tank if i can get away with it spacewise... i was thinking of mixing a 10,000K and a 12000 K in each one to supplement the 400w 10,000k halide.. what do you guys think?
btw, the Magnavore 10 is a BEAST... i can't believe how well it handles the 2" acrylic.. even with the curved edges..
wld1783
Premium Member
I really like the IceCap retros. The 660ballast is great.
http://www.aquacave.com/searchresult.aspx?CategoryID=430
Also have you thought about Tunze Skimmers they have an extreemly small footprint.
Bill
