reefermike1
New member
just dropped some coin on an order from glasscages on a 240square rimless reef-ready tank and now im going nuts on planning equipment. im not a noob but havent been all that into it for the last year or so. ive had a few different setups in the past and currently have a 45cube.
the tank dimensions are 48"x48"x24". im going for a mixed reef setup. id like to have enough light at the top in certain areas for acros to thrive, and would like lower light towards the bottom in some areas for shrooms and palys to do well. im also planning a couple different anemones.
lighting on this kind of footprint is what is throwing me. ive had great results with t5 lighting for the last few years, but in this case im not sure if thats the way to go. for one thing id need a ton of bulbs to cover the majority of the tank, and another thing they need to be so close to the water i think it would make it a pain to reach into the tank for maintenance without some sort of elaborate canopy with hydrolic lifts etc... (canopy will probably weigh a couple hundred pounds and either suspended from the ceiling or mounted to the wall behind the tank.)
with halides im not really sure its been a few years since my old halide setup and it didnt have the greatest reflector. i was thinking of a couple 250watt bulbs with lumenbrights or something. could i get away with 2 halides in the middle with actinics on the sides or would i likely need 4 to light the whole tank? what would be the best reflector for the widest light spread? and then how wide would it be?
looking for opinions here so if you were to try to light a tank as described how exactly would you go about it?
thanks
the tank dimensions are 48"x48"x24". im going for a mixed reef setup. id like to have enough light at the top in certain areas for acros to thrive, and would like lower light towards the bottom in some areas for shrooms and palys to do well. im also planning a couple different anemones.
lighting on this kind of footprint is what is throwing me. ive had great results with t5 lighting for the last few years, but in this case im not sure if thats the way to go. for one thing id need a ton of bulbs to cover the majority of the tank, and another thing they need to be so close to the water i think it would make it a pain to reach into the tank for maintenance without some sort of elaborate canopy with hydrolic lifts etc... (canopy will probably weigh a couple hundred pounds and either suspended from the ceiling or mounted to the wall behind the tank.)
with halides im not really sure its been a few years since my old halide setup and it didnt have the greatest reflector. i was thinking of a couple 250watt bulbs with lumenbrights or something. could i get away with 2 halides in the middle with actinics on the sides or would i likely need 4 to light the whole tank? what would be the best reflector for the widest light spread? and then how wide would it be?
looking for opinions here so if you were to try to light a tank as described how exactly would you go about it?
thanks
