New Tank 96x48x26 any advice??

[firereefer]

I'm about to order my new 520 and just wonder if anyone has any advice.

Heres what i'm thinking:

Tank - 96x48x26, viewable 3 sides, Starphire 3 sides, external overflow box on 1 short side, 2 closed loops, refugium, sump, proptank. This will be in an enclosed room in the basement. A room divider.

Some questions....

Would you change the tank dimensions at all??

Lighting for a tank that size? I want to keep a variety of everything....how many? what spectrum? 250 HQI??

Closed loop...how many GPH? what pump?

Sump- How big?

Refuge- How big?

Prop tank- How big?

thanks

 

[jdieck]

Is 48" the height or how wide will it be?
If viewable from front and back you want a wide tank so if the width is 48 " it will be OK, do not go deeper tham 30", 24 is better
so in case your dimensions are OK if it is 96Lx48Wx24H

 

[firereefer]

yes tank is:

96 long x 48 wide x 26 high

 

[firereefer]

any comments would be greatly appreciated. just looking for any feedback.

thanks

 

[firereefer]

what size chiller would a 520 need? or more than 1?

 

[Yellotang]

Re: New Tank 96x48x26 any advice??

Would you change the tank dimensions at all??

No.

Lighting for a tank that size? I want to keep a variety of everything....how many? what spectrum? 250 HQI??

6 ea 250 10KK Ushios.
4 ea 6 foot vho actinics.

Closed loop...how many GPH? what pump?

2 amp master 5600gph.

Sump- How big?

250 gallons

Refuge- How big?

50 gallon

Prop tank- How big?

any size you want. I wouldn't connect it to this system though. keep the water seperated.

 

[firereefer]

how about 2 reeflo hammerheads for 2 closed loops??

how would you arrange the lights

like this?

- - - - - -

or this?

- - -
- - -

how about 6 x 250 with 3 -10k and 3- 20k ??

 

[jdieck]

My own preference will be 4 400 watts 10K in line with two VHO actinics on each side. This will allow for sunrise and sunset simulation as well as passing overhead sun by turning the MH one at a time with in 15 min to 12 Hr interaval and turnign them of in the same sequence.

 

[firereefer]

hmmm...i like more the 20k look...could i do 4 20k and 2 10k and get rid of actnic all together?

 

[jdieck]

Yes you can but note that 10 K will give you growth and a lot higher PAR while the actinics combination will make them look like 14 to 20 K's. besides the actinics give you more vibrant coloration than just the 20 K's. Watt per watt you will be lowering your efficiency switching to 20 K's.

 

[firereefer]

hmmm..ok well thanks.

anyone else have an opinion on this tank?

 

[firereefer]

*

 

[invincible569]

I would make the nonviewable side black.

I would also run a combination of everything from 10k, 20k and actinics (URI & T5's). Im a fan of 250w HQI (DE). If its 48" wide, it all depends on where you plan to keep your corals. If you place your rocks at the back, then there is no need for a double line. You could place your actinics towards the front and MH's towards the back feeding your corals.

I would get a minimum of 150g sump. A minimum of 1HP chiller.. Aqua Medic's Titan with built in Controller. 2 to be on the safe side in case one fails. Or an Aquacontroller to disable lights in case of a heat spike. I would also buy less rock.. the more rock you put in yoru tank, the smaller it looks and more cluttered up. I would also think about investing in a ROWA reactor with ROWAphos (phosphate remover) since this is in a new tank. It would eliminate the algae blooms you will have with a new tank and future ones.

 

[firereefer]

wow, thanks for the advice. these are the type posts I'm looking for. please keep them coming!

 

[conspicman]

hi fire, you should think about going 24 not 26 it will drop the price. i would not go with 400 or 250 the 175s will penitrate fine at 24 in. Your will have less heat and less power. Each 175 will light 2ftX2ft area so at 48X 96 your looking at 16 175s to do the job. i would use 14k bulbs and no o3(the blue is more rich). I would use a 400 gallon ruber maid sump and a 150 gallon refuge. Any good flow pump will work well on the loop. As far as water movenent throught the sump you should aim for 2x tank volume. The internal movement should be around 12 to 15x the tank volume. I would use a my reef creations mr7 powered by an iwaki 100rlt. For calcium i would use a mtc pro-cal reactor. On one of the loops you should use a 120 watt uv as a clarifier. For the chiller i would use a one ton ac unit, will save you lots of $$$$$$$ in the long run. For the rock make sure you use show size pieces so that the tank does not look to busy.

P.S. I would think about getting a custom eco-aqualizer as well.

Remember this is only my thoughts, i am sure many people would do it diffrent. good luck

 

[jdieck]

Conspic:
Do you think 4 400 watts or even 6 400 will give more heat than 16 175s? what about the cost?

Invincible:
I may stand corrected if wrong but I understand the three viewing sides will be front, back and one side oposit to the overflow so I assume the corals and rockwork will tend toward the center (Thats why I think 48" wide is best to arrange both viewing sides with lamps in the center.
I would also recommend that the overflow runs the full 48" wide.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=3006872#post3006872

Here is a thread to decide on bulb coloration, take a look at the kind of PAR you get with each type and brand and how it looks with or without actinics. Coloration is much a matter of personal preference and the kind of livestock you plan to have. IMO if you want to keep SPS and Clams (And I think you eventually will) is to go with high wattage.

 

[conspicman]

jd, if he goes with the 16 175s there will be no dark spots. The tank will have perfect lighting perramiters. There will be an even balance to the lighting of the tank

 

[funstarfish]

i would do 30 wide and 24 high if i were you. my tank is 24 wide not a room divider and i had trouble getting enough rock in there. 30 wide will give you a bit of extra room to play with. i think you could get away with 5X 250 hqi on lighting switching 10k 20k 10k 20k 10k but if you wanna go 6 250hqi, that might look better.

10k 20k 10k 10k 20k 10k

also could be nice if you do

vho vho vho
10k 10k 10k 10k
vho vho vho

youd get your 1 halide every 2 ft and vho bulbs are a bit more efficient than 250de as far as power consumption goes. you could even do T5s. plus having 6 vho bulbs could give you a cool sunrise/sunset effect.

i think thats the way id do it. far as sump and fuge go, the bigger the better. hmm, can't wait till i get to plan a big in house tank.

 

[nanocat]

Why would he go 30" wide when he's already planning 48" wide? His tank size is perfect IMO

Forget the 175's. I have two 175's and a 250 over my 80 gallon (22 tall). It's marginal IMO. I'd have 3 250's over the 80 if I got a deal on the 250's.

Your tank is bigger...I wouldn't consider anything under 250w myself.

Love to see your aquascaping...I'm envious. It's hard to get the right look on a tank that's only 18" wide.

 

[funstarfish]

oh, yeah, of course, what was i thinking, my bad. i had it all skewed in my head. yeah, 48 wide