180 Gallon Tank Build (4 Viewers)

[Hurdicuss]

That's a nice looking tank B. I will be tagging along your build.

Good luck with it!

 

[mario8402]

gonna be a nice one!

 

[AquaNerd]

i laid out the plans today to make the closed loop. i'll be drilling 4 additional holes in the back of the tank. i'm a bit nervous, but it's gonna make water movement in that tank sweet!

i also began the modifications to the sump today. originally there were only two sections, but i plan to make it into three. the standard drain from tank and skimmer in first chamber, refugium in the middle section, and return in the last section.

 

[crvz]

Why 8 36" bulbs? That's kind of a replacement nightmare financially. Why not just stagger four 48" bulbs or line up five 60" bulbs?

 

[stdreb27]

He probably get bulbs at cost, which is probably pretty cheap...

 

[AquaNerd]

i plan on doing 3 250 watt halides in the middle.

look like this i guess (i suck at google sketch up or whatever it's called.

the +--------+ = a 36 inch t5 bulb.

+-------------------+ +---------------------+
+-------------------+ +---------------------+
Halide #1 Halide #2 Halide #3
+-------------------+ +---------------------+
+-------------------+ +---------------------+

 

[crvz]

Right, but why not cut your costs and electricity and just run the four 48" bulbs? The MH will light up everything on the ends of the tank, why worry about getting the T5s all the way to the end of the tank?

 

[AquaNerd]

i guess i'm just shooting for max color and light coverage. i'll play around with it once i have everything in place. if i don't like it, i'll just switch, but i definitely see your point.

 

[hank]

You NEED 24, 36" bulbs.

 

[Guest]

You NEED 24, 36" bulbs.

.....and 3x400w's!

 

[crvz]

I'm already over lighting my tank with the 8 overdriven 54 watt bulbs. Most of my softies don't do well unless at the very bottom of the tank with shading in place. I'm not sure how the combo of MH and T5 will compare, but you'll find out I'm sure!

 

[AquaNerd]

yeah, i'm going to have a ton of light...and that's the goal.

i've always been a huge fan of t5ho. but, this is an opportunity to do something a tad different. i do like the shimmer lines, but they're not make or break for me. i'm going for growth here, and with the t5's color.

 

[hank]

Do you think you'll gain much output from the MH? What I have been reading about compo tests on RC indicates that the PAR of t5 coverage is better than mh and lux is on par... pun intended. ...with 250w MH I also think you are throwing away color diversity options gained with running tons of t5.

I am thinking about 12 t5 on my 120 or 8 t5 with 4x 65w pc additional actinic supplementation.

 

[AquaNerd]

i really am unsure of what i want as of now. i love t5's, but i really want to experiment with halides. i do enjoy the shimmer, and with a canopy now, i can experiment in a cheap manner. i don't have to go out and get a big expensive fixture. i can add a halide at a time if i want.

the main goal is maximized color and maximized growth. t5 really bring out the colors, so i do plan on utilizing them. as for halides, it's been my experience that they are brighter par wise. i know t5's will give me all around more coverage, but i really want the brightness of a halide in areas where corals will be concentrated. plus, i want to see what kind of different colors i can get with a mh setup vs an all t5 setup.

 

[AquaNerd]

Ok, so I finally wised up and decided to not explore the metal halide option. I really wanted to at least explore that route, but having to buy the halides themselves as well as possibly having to add a chiller will just be too expensive. I gave back in to the T5HO bug. So, I will be going with eight 80w T5HO bulbs overdriven by two IceCap 660s. It's going to look good so, I'm not too worried.

I also had Minh order my sand. I'm going with Fiji Pink, somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 lbs for the display tank. I'm also going to go with Aragamax sugar sized sand for the refugium.

And speaking of refugium, it's finally done. I removed the original baffles and relocted them to a more traditional area to create three chambers. I'll snap a few pics soon and post.

I have also started the light rack project. I'm stealing the idea from Chris (crvz) and using angle alluminum to create a lightweight but sturdy light rack. All I have to do is cut the metal down to the right lenghts and rivet them into place. Then I'll mount the lights to it. Shouldn't take too long I'm assuming.

 

[Scott]

So, I will be going with eight 80w T5HO bulbs overdriven by two IceCap 660s.

As most of us know, the 660 will over-drive a 54W (48") to 80W but I'm assuming that when you refer to 80W you mean the 60" bulbs because your tank is 6' long. I'm not sure that one 660 will run four 60" bulbs, did you check with IceCap? They say it will run 16' max and your trying to get 20' out of each one. Did you consider maybe running 3 (15') on one 660, 3 (15') on another 660 and two on a 430 (IceCap says a 430 will run two T5HO bulbs)?

 

[crvz]

Nah, it's pretty easy. I was a bit concerned about using aluminum angle iron and stainless rivots, but there's been no issue (I was worried about corrosion between the two metals in the humid, salty environment).

Also, if you end up with anything like I did, you'll want to ground the reflectors and frame. The bulbs induce an electric potential to the metals, and it's a bit of a concern. Here is how I solved the problem. It worked well, only cost a couple bucks, and is easy to remove when I need to replace a bulb or otherwise do maintenance. I got the alligator clips at the ACE hardware there in Seabrook (on NASA 1).

 

[lilred1995vette]

660 runs 3 5ft 80w bulbs, just a heads up, i check with them a while back for my 215.

 

[Scott]

So you're going to need at least three ballasts if you want 8 bulbs.

 

[cstewart79]

brandon why not just light half the tank for a while until you can get more lights