My 550 @ 6 Years
- Thread starter kevinpo
- Start date
invincible569
New member
Your tank brings back memories! What are the current dimensions of this tank? I like the dimensions you are wanting to purchase for your next tank.
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
Is the tank acrylic?If so do mh lights(the heat) cause these tanks to lose there strength and bow.
The tank is 96"Lx44'Wx33.5"H. The front and back panels are 1" thick, the ends and top 3/4", and the bottom 1/2". 1" acrylic does distort the view a bit, especially at an angle but the 3/4" is fine.
Yes the tank is acrylic. No it isn't the heat. The top surfaces never get above 80F. It is the combination of several factors. Acrylic is usually chemically bonded (not glued) together using a solvent which evaporates. The solvent breaks down the plastic and allows it to melt together. This changes the plastic slightly in that area. Normally it's not much of a factor and the bond will easily last for 10 years plus. Then we add the constant stress of the water pulling at the joint. This also is not that big of deal but is another factor. Taller tanks and ones made with thinner plastic have more effect than shorter ones. Then add the constant bombardment of UV A, B, and C and the result is crazing and cracking. Another factor is if the edges have been flame polished. Even a router used for rounding over the edges over can heat the plastic and add a heat history. The plastic remembers this heat history and is slightly weakend by it. None of the factors by themselves are much of a problem. It is the combination over time. I own 4 acrylic sumps and 8 large acrylic tanks all of which are more than four years old except for one tank. Only the tanks with halides show the crazing. It starts to show up at about the three year mark. I've had my friend Brent (Zephrant) look at them and he agrees. The joints from about 12" down all look fine on both the sides and the bottom.
The dilemma with large tanks is that glass tanks are so heavy and not that easy to drill holes in. Plus unless you use low iron glass the green tint is much more noticeable in larger tanks. This makes acrylic a very attractive option and for most lighting works excellent. I have about 3,300W of light over this tank.
Here is a picture of me back in Sept. 2003 helping Brent to reseal the back joint...
Regards,
Kevin
Last edited:
steve the plumb
In Memoriam
I just bought an acrylic tank.I plan to have 4x250 watt mh plus 12x54 watt T5.I am thinking if this will happen to my tank then what can I do to prevent this.Do you have any thoughts.Thanks very nice tank.
I have a 96 x 42 x 32 coming and I am using all t-5 lighting for this very reason. I will be using two 4ft 8 bulb fixture and two 4ft 4 bulb fixtures. That's a total of 1,296 watts.
Plus I have will have no heat issues with the tank, much easier to cool the tank and room. Also remember t-5's produce about 10% more per watt than even metal halides. Plus I will have very few dead spots because every inch of the tank will have a bulb over it.
If you insist on mega watts, you can use ice cap ballasts and overdrive the 54 watt bulbs to between 80-85 watts each. You could turn my 1,296 watts into 1920-2040 without the heat issue ruining your tank and spending huge amounts of money trying to cool your tank and room.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
beautiful mature reef aquarium, Kevin.
Time for a frag sale to help fund a new aquarium.
I remember you starting up this aquarium. Seems like it just happened yesterday....
Time for a frag sale to help fund a new aquarium.
I remember you starting up this aquarium. Seems like it just happened yesterday....
Gary Majchrzak
Team RC
someday I'll attend MACNA.
Maybe after the kids are on their own....
Maybe after the kids are on their own....
Sanjay
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10622047#post10622047 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevinpo
Hi Sanjay,
If you pick me up at the airport on Thursday for MACNA I will bring you a box full you can haveBut you will have to take me to your house to help acclimate them properly :bum:
Regards,
Kevin
The big problem with this plan is that the Pittsburgh airport is 3 hrs from my house. If you fly into State College, PA I can easily make it work.
Not only that, then you can even go home with some new stuff. sanjay.
Favia, Trachyphyllia, and Caulastrea. I thinl any LPS that doesn't sting would be in danger. It also nipped at 5-6 SPS corals at different ages. Any coral placed midway up or higher in the tank it would leave alone. They don't like exposing themselves over the reef where they can't dive into a bolt hole. The only current coral I see it nipping the tips of sometimes is Montipora digitata.
Regards,
Kevin
I have the same equipment from the start except I added a second skimmer. It is a SK4200 with a 12" extension driven by an Iwaki MD100RLT. I also changed out the metal halide ballasts from standard PFO magnetic to PFO HQI. Over the years I have also run many different MH bulb conbinations. I'm currently running Reeflux 10,000K's. I also added ozone a few years ago.
Regards,
Kevin
Similar threads
