125 gallon reef newby DIY - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

Ralph · 08-31-2008, 10:18 PM

Attached are pictures of the location. The first is the bar, which is not much to look at yet.

The second is the area just behind the bar. The door opening you see is out to the living area with the bar. Sorry about the drywall obstructing the view.

Ralph

Got Water? · 09-01-2008, 12:04 AM

Sounds like it's going to work out great for you. And look fantastic. See ya

Ralph · 09-02-2008, 01:01 AM

I'm having trouble deciding whether to choose a 4' 5' or 6' long tank for the location. The bar is 7' wide, so 6' might be pushing it. 5' would be nice, but I'm worried that then I'm into non-standard lighting, etc. Does anyone have thoughts about lighting a 60¨ long tank? I will probably would not use a canopy anyway since the tank will be partially in the wall.

Thanks again for any advice,

Ralph

aslanperro · 09-03-2008, 12:44 PM

Ralph

I'm a newbie so this may be dumb suggestion. If you want to go with 6' or even 7' tank, can't you use 2 separate light fixtures assuming there is center brace.

Ralph · 09-04-2008, 11:03 PM

I have thought about multiple fixtures. I didn't think about 2 x 3' for a 6' tank though. I wonder if there's any cost advantage to that arrangement, or maybe allow more options for mixing in different lamps (actinic and daylight for e.g.)

For a 5' tank, which I'd like to try to do, I guess one could use 2' (if there's such a thing) and 3' fixtures.

newfound77951 · 09-03-2008, 02:06 PM

Personally I think a 6' tank would look great there. With the front trim it would take up the whole width of the bar and look awesome. For 6 footers, you've got the 125, 150 and 180g to choose from in stock sizes, depending on the height and width you want.

I commend you for really doing your homework before you "dive in". You'll find lots of great advice here too!

pat8you · 09-03-2008, 05:02 PM

I would also go with a 6' tank. Like newfound said you would have a few options for stock sizes which would probably be cheaper then the less common 5' or 7' tanks. Lighting a 5' tank wouldn't be that difficult you would just have a little room on the end where it would not have as strong of light. You could put your soft corals and mushrooms and lower light corals there. Another advantage to having a 6' would be that fish like tangs and angels and such like the extra length for more swimming room. Active fish will be happier with the extra foot. Have you looked into what kind of corals you want to keep? If you want to have SPS corals you will probably need MH lighting in which case the tank length wouldn't be much of an issue because you can move around the fixtures until you get an acceptable lighting spread. Sounds like an interesting project. good luck

Chisel · 09-03-2008, 05:14 PM

I'm hoping that you are going to start a tank build thread so we can follow this from beginning to end. I'll be watching this one.

Ralph · 09-04-2008, 08:34 AM

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm looking forward to seeing it there.

I have more research to do on exactly what I want to keep, but I would like to keep hard corals and fish.

Would it make any sense to hang a 6' fixture over a 5' tank and let the light "spill over" the sides?

I may be leaning towards 6' here. I also think it would look nice, but leave just 6" on each side, no room to squeeze in a sink back there I was hoping for.

How do I start a "tank build thread?"

Ralph

pat8you · 09-04-2008, 01:42 PM

A "tank build thread" is just a normal thread like this one dedicated to your process/project. Its just like a little e-journal that updates the people here on how things are going. We like lots of pictures! people will continute to post thoughts and ideas on your build thread as well so it benefits both sides.

I don't see any real big advantage to haveing a 6' light over a 5' tank. You might get a little more light in there. On the other hand i can't think of any disadvantage either.