Couple of questions
- Thread starter ijs1
- Start date
It all comes down to what you're planning to keep.
I have a two foot deep tank and use 250W double-ended (HQI) bulbs. This gives me enough like to put things mostly where I want.
The risk of having nohting between the bulbs and the water is that a splah of water from a fish flicking the surface will send you out shopping for a new bulb - and bulbs are not cheap.
In the case of HQI bulbs you need UV protection too i.e. to avoid "sunburn" you need some sort of UV filter.
If your light fixture is sealed (glass or acrylic lens) then you should probably do away with your glass lid otheriwse you're just wasting some the light you're paying a fortune in power to produce - this will help keep the tank cool (questionable thing to want to do in England!) but will increase evaporation quite a bit.
A thing to watch with glass lids is that they can (will) crack if the glass is not tempered and the bulbs are mounted near the surface of the water.
I have a two foot deep tank and use 250W double-ended (HQI) bulbs. This gives me enough like to put things mostly where I want.
The risk of having nohting between the bulbs and the water is that a splah of water from a fish flicking the surface will send you out shopping for a new bulb - and bulbs are not cheap.
In the case of HQI bulbs you need UV protection too i.e. to avoid "sunburn" you need some sort of UV filter.
If your light fixture is sealed (glass or acrylic lens) then you should probably do away with your glass lid otheriwse you're just wasting some the light you're paying a fortune in power to produce - this will help keep the tank cool (questionable thing to want to do in England!) but will increase evaporation quite a bit.
A thing to watch with glass lids is that they can (will) crack if the glass is not tempered and the bulbs are mounted near the surface of the water.
I have a tank thats 18 inches wide, but its only 25 gallons. Your aquascaping is going to be sooooooooooooo limited. Your tank would littlerally look like the corals were lined up in a row. And to then use 250W MH's would be a bit of a waste seen as they could light a tank of equal dimensions with double the width. Your going to have a huge ammount of light overspilling IMO, unless you get a comeplete enclosed lid.
TRUST ME, you want a wider tank. Especialy when your considering only £300 to double the space utilised by some very expensive lights.
Oh, and i agree with AGT. if theres protection for the bulbs remove the condensation trays.
Sounds to me like someone gave you that tank. I would imagine the glass is probably 10mm because it sounds like a FW tank to me. So check that out, because there was this guy who had a 300 gallon tank out of 10mm glass and it blew up. He was actually very lucky he wasn't killed. Remember, reef tanks have a lot of rockwork in them. Sereously, for what there worth get a wider one. Please, i cant bear it...... AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. (just imagining your frustration)
[ March 20, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
TRUST ME, you want a wider tank. Especialy when your considering only £300 to double the space utilised by some very expensive lights.
Oh, and i agree with AGT. if theres protection for the bulbs remove the condensation trays.
Sounds to me like someone gave you that tank. I would imagine the glass is probably 10mm because it sounds like a FW tank to me. So check that out, because there was this guy who had a 300 gallon tank out of 10mm glass and it blew up. He was actually very lucky he wasn't killed. Remember, reef tanks have a lot of rockwork in them. Sereously, for what there worth get a wider one. Please, i cant bear it...... AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. (just imagining your frustration)
[ March 20, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
Thanks guys,
Mouse I agree wider is nicer but it's a queastion of comprimise.
What halide would you recommend then? 1x150 2x150...
It is a marine systemised tank 10mm.
You've totaly confused the hell out of me. 10mm glass is overkill - even for a tank full off rock.
yes rock is heavier than water (it sinks) but it displaces it's volume of water. Therefore the tank would be heavier but I think 20mm bullet proof glass would be taking the mick!
Cheers Ian
Mouse I agree wider is nicer but it's a queastion of comprimise.
What halide would you recommend then? 1x150 2x150...
It is a marine systemised tank 10mm.
You've totaly confused the hell out of me. 10mm glass is overkill - even for a tank full off rock.
yes rock is heavier than water (it sinks) but it displaces it's volume of water. Therefore the tank would be heavier but I think 20mm bullet proof glass would be taking the mick!
Cheers Ian
I think i would want to take the mick when im talking about holding an investment worth a hell of allot of time and money. Depth is the important factor when considering glass thickness, thats whats going to create the pressure. And the weight of the rock isnt exactly the most crucial factor either. Have you noticed how sharp it is. When i put my tank togather my hands looked minced. If one of those very sharp rocks falls forwards and hits the glass with a point it would act like a centre punch. You know those things that thieves use to blow out car windows.
As i said there was some muppet here who built a 300 gallon reef with a 10mm glass tank, and as i said it exploded. It could have killed him, or even worse someone else.
Im interested, where did you buy this tank?
ill see if i can get some info on tank/glass/thickness stuff. But IMO 25gallons is as big as you can go on a reef with 10mm glass.
[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
As i said there was some muppet here who built a 300 gallon reef with a 10mm glass tank, and as i said it exploded. It could have killed him, or even worse someone else.
Im interested, where did you buy this tank?
ill see if i can get some info on tank/glass/thickness stuff. But IMO 25gallons is as big as you can go on a reef with 10mm glass.
[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
Ok i checked it out, your about 3-4mm short of the minimum. But accidents do happen and that 3-4mm could mean the difference between the tank springing a leak, and a bunch of dying fish flipping around your dismembered corpse id say it was pretty important.
proportionally 10mm and 13-14mm are quite different.
Marine systemised may be fine for fish only. But fish only systems and reef tanks are a world appart.
Id just hate to hear of anyone getting hurt.
proportionally 10mm and 13-14mm are quite different.
Marine systemised may be fine for fish only. But fish only systems and reef tanks are a world appart.
Id just hate to hear of anyone getting hurt.
Mouse I didn't check your profile but my tank is a 'FIT' tank.
Yep depth is important when calculation glass thickness. However you can have much bigger tanks than mine with 10mm glass. Check out the Deltec tanks. what size is your tank if mines a little odd? You haven't made your aquarium out of toughened glass I hope!
If yours is 2 ft breadth and only 25G then I assume its 2x2x1 high
as 2X2X1 = 6 X6.18 = 24.72G
That seems odd to me.
Anyway enough - what lighting do you recommend for my tank as the reply after yours suggests 2 x 250w
Cheers Ian
Yep depth is important when calculation glass thickness. However you can have much bigger tanks than mine with 10mm glass. Check out the Deltec tanks. what size is your tank if mines a little odd? You haven't made your aquarium out of toughened glass I hope!
If yours is 2 ft breadth and only 25G then I assume its 2x2x1 high
as 2X2X1 = 6 X6.18 = 24.72G
That seems odd to me.
Anyway enough - what lighting do you recommend for my tank as the reply after yours suggests 2 x 250w
Cheers Ian
Mines three foot long, and 18 wide. Its how i know they will look lined up. It's not made out of toughend glass (cuz that would be silly).
ok, the lights. 2 x 250, because of the depth.
Are you saying the Deltec tanks are 10mm. The 300 gallon one they have on their site. Ill have to check it out.
Still were'd you get it from?
[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
ok, the lights. 2 x 250, because of the depth.
Are you saying the Deltec tanks are 10mm. The 300 gallon one they have on their site. Ill have to check it out.
Still were'd you get it from?
[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
Ok i phoned the dude from Deltec.
He says ABSOLUTE maximum size for 10mm tanks is 4ft by 2ft high. Your right on the cusp, sorry if i gave you a heart attack. After that he says the glass goes to 19mm
I still think id want to be on the safer side though. Its just the story from the guy with the 300 gallon tank really got up my nose. Firstly for endangering himself and any potential visitors, but secondly because his reef inhabitants are, sorry.. were living in a potential time bomb.
I suppose this recomendation may shift slightly, but if Deltec say its ok id trust them. But he did stress this is the ABSOLUTE maximum.
He says ABSOLUTE maximum size for 10mm tanks is 4ft by 2ft high. Your right on the cusp, sorry if i gave you a heart attack. After that he says the glass goes to 19mm
I still think id want to be on the safer side though. Its just the story from the guy with the 300 gallon tank really got up my nose. Firstly for endangering himself and any potential visitors, but secondly because his reef inhabitants are, sorry.. were living in a potential time bomb.
I suppose this recomendation may shift slightly, but if Deltec say its ok id trust them. But he did stress this is the ABSOLUTE maximum.
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