125 gallon reef newby DIY

[Ralph]

So I'm thinking that since I'm not going to be using a hood, I should be able to have a bit more flexibility with lighting. I talked to someone at my LFS and he suggested that I could use MH pendulums or go with 5' flourescents. He said that 5' lamps are not necessarily more expensive, but not everyone carries them. Does this sound like sound advice?

I'd like to keep stonies. I think that means that I need lots of blues, which I could get with actinic tubes, or metal halide.

Someone else pointed me to Specialty Lighting at Specialty-Lights: Professional Lighting, Facilities Lighting, Specialty Light, Unique Lighting Systems. I'm looking at the T5 fixtures, but I don't see anything in 5'. Maybe a 4' with a pendulum on each end? Or would that lighting distribution look strange in the tank from the front? I see my choice of tank having a bit impact on the lighting.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Ralph

[Ralph]

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.

[pat8you]

If you want to keep SPS corals they require more light and you will probably need to look at MH as your main source of light. You can then decide if you want to supplement with T5

[Got Water?]

I'll throw another stick on the fire.
Looking at your bar area, have you thought about a tank 4' wide and 30" high, a taller tank might solve some of your lighting issues. And if your going to frame the tank, you will get a more of an "art" look. It's not an unuseual size to find.

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by Ralph

I'd like to keep stonies. I think that means that I need lots of blues, which I could get with actinic tubes, or metal halide.

I see my choice of tank having a bit impact on the lighting.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Ralph

The "blue look" is eye candy. A fuller spectrum, 10k-15k will put out all the blue light that corals need.

Tank depth is very important in regards to lighting. Alot also depends on the ballasts, bulbs and reflectors you use. If your going MH, it's usually recommended that 175w is good up to about 22" deep, a 250w up to about 28" and anything over is 400w.
I think anything over 25" may be too deep for T5's, except of course you can just keep the coral higher in the tank.

[Ziggy953]

Welcome to AA!

I like the ideas you have and the placement of the tank is awesome!

If it were me I would go with a 6' 210 RR tank. I would stay away from the 4x4's. They are not a good idea. Here is the stand template that I used when building for my 120.

As for lighting, if you are going full reef with SPS corals or clams I would suggest a diy style lighting with MH in pendants instead of a fixture. You have more options and it will save you $$$. If you are going to have only the face of the tank showing with trim around it then your lighting can be easily accessed in your fish room.

Take it from me the surface on which you set your tank needs to be perfectly flat and level. I went so far as to buy a slab of granite to sit my tank on. I'm not suggesting you do that but keep it in mind as you build your stand. With a 6' tank you will need good center bracing to keep things level and avoid bowing.

[Ralph]

This is all really good input guys. Thank you for keeping me encouraged. I will definitely keep updating you on progress.

Does anyone have an recommendations for a supplier of lighting components?
I'd like to incorporate both MH pendants and fluorescent fixtures.

I'm a bit handy with electronics, so at some point I'll probably play with some ideas for timers for lights and pumps.

Ralph

[Ziggy953]

I have used Hellolights.com and have always been happy with the service.

[ccCapt]

I like Hello Lights for bulbs and reflectors too and Ballast Wise for ballasts.

[cmor1701d]

I'll also chime in for HelloLights who has a 30 day price match guarantee and has a special for free shipping and "During the month of September all Ushio lamps are on sale! "
Champion Lighting also gets good reviews.

[Ralph]

This build is not dead, I just haven't made much progress lately. I've been distracted by other stuff but I've been reading and learning.

I'm trying to heat up progress on this again.

Same spot for the tank, now thinking about a 5' acrylic with a sump system.
I'm trying to put together a complete equipment list so that I can budget for this in stages.

What I'm worried about now is that if I jump in all in one go then I'll have a nicely running, well lit empty box of water for a long time.
Should I think about starting the system up with a fish-only system and build up to corals?

Ralph

[jcmelski]

I have a 110g RR tank. I can find more 6' light fixtures than I can find 5'. If you want to start with FOwLR you can, then add beginner corals as your tank matures and you get comfortable with it. Be mindful though of the fish that you add to your FO tank because the pretty pygmy angelfish that you add now will nip and make a meal out of your very expensive corals later. ask me how I know.

[SparKy697]

Ralph,

So many options here... Here is what I did with my little 29 gallon reef:

Get the tank home built and the tank ready for water.

Make sure that any plumbing penetrations that will be needed are in place and ready to go. Install valves just outside the tank so that water stays in the tank.

Get your RO/DI system setup and decide what you are going to use for fresh water storage as well as salt water storage.

Buy your substrate and Live rock. With all of that and the salt water in the tank you are on your way to the land of cycling and curing live rock. All you really need is a couple of power heads and a heater. At this point, lights are not needed or even wanted for that matter.

While your tank is going through it's cycle you have time to get your sump and maybe lights in order. I went a couple of months without a sump on mine and even with such a small tank things seemed to go ok.

Once your nitrates show up and the place is safe, you can add a few fish if you really want something to look at.

I'm a firm believer of going at this in a non rushed manner. Maybe too slow for some.... But I think it pays off in the long run.

[Ralph]

Thanks for the kind encouragement and advice.

Silly question: If I don't have a sump at the start, what is the best way to maintain circulation while the system matures? I had been thinking that the sump return would provide a lot of circulation that the LR would need.

Power heads I suppose? I was hoping to devise some clever way of getting all the circulation I need (at the start) out of the return water pump.

Thanks again,

Ralph

[jcmelski]

It can be done but you would need some ball valves and some unions to isolate the pump once you have your sump.

[SparKy697]

I think that in order to provide the current you need in the tank via your return pump, there would be a whole lot of water passing through the sump. Most choose to use the return pump to provide enough to filter the water properly and use power heads or a closed loop (my favorite) to take care of the rest of the needed flow. That being said, yes, power heads would work. You will likely end up with them at some point anyway.

[Ralph]

No problems going slow here. I've been thinking about this thing for over a year.

What is the disadvantage of a high flow through the sump?

It what locations would I need drills for a closed loop system? I suppose if I had closed loop circulation, I could use the pump that I'd eventually use for the sump return.

[Ralph]

Anybody want to explain why I would want a low flow through the sump?

Can I hook a water pump between the drain and return on a RR tank for closed-loop flow in the absence of a sump, or is there some other drill configuration I should have for closed loop circulation?

Thanks and sorry for the basic questions.

[jcmelski]

To give your skimmer or fuge time to process the water.

[SparKy697]

Sorry about that Ralph, I made the statement then left you hanging.

I think some of the reasons for keeping the velocity through the sump low might be to allow air bubbles to rise to the top and not make their way to the return pump. I know that in my sump I see some debris settle on the bottom. If the current was too fast, that may not happen as well and those little particles would stay in the water column longer. Also, the faster the flow from the tank and through the sump, the faster problems become bigger problems when it comes to overflowing and spilling water. I'm sure that there are others...