Lighting and Aquascaping

[octoman2707]

My display tank: Dimensions: 30-1/4"L x 18-1/4"W x 57-7/16"H
currently I have an marine glo light (17watts)
and Im wondering is this enough , I'm planning on it having an octopus is that good , or depending on circumstances I might instead turn it into a reef tank , how much would I be looking at for a lighting system for that?
And Its tall and Im about to get a 45 lb fiji live rock shipment from live aquaria , I already have the egg crate under the sand , but what kinda asthectically pleasing way could I use to have a secure rock setup , for the tank , even if its for an octopus or a reef tank

 

[seapug]

so the tank is 2.5 ft long, 1.5ft Wide and almost 5 feet tall? Sounds like it would be dangerously unstable when full.

With a tank with those dimensions, a single 400W+ pendant MH is about the only viable lighting option.

Octopi are very difficult to maintain in captivity (tank must be completely sealed to prevent escape) and rarely live over 1 year (naturally).

Maintaining a reef in a tank like that will be very difficult long term. Personally, I'd turn a tank like that into some sort of planted FW tank or seaweed-seagrass/seahorse tank.

 

[joeychitwood]

Can you post a photo of your tank? I've never seen one with similar dimensions. Cleaning the glass and aquascaping could be quite difficult just because of the depth. Be aware that as seapug mentions, the octopus can be quite difficult to raise, and they are able to squeeze out of extremely tiny openings in the tank cover.

Should you decide to raise corals, it will be quite difficult to get adequate light to the bottom of the tank.

 

[octoman2707]

 

[jeff@zina.com]

That's not 57" high, it's more like 27". And you'll need a fair amount of light to penetrate that depth, most likely not power compacts or even T5 lighting. Meaning metal halide, 250W or 400W.

Jeff

 

[octoman2707]

whats the price on that?

 

[octoman2707]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3804456
this is tank