Tank depth vs. lighting

[jejton]

If I were to keep softies and LPS, what would be the deepest tank I can reasonably have without needing metal halides?

 

[loismustdie]

I think more importantly here is, how deep can you go and still reach the bottom when something falls.
Are you going with normal output, VHO or T-5?

 

[jejton]

The deal is that I am moving to a larger apt. in a week and would like to start a decent sized reef tank ( 58-100 or so gallons ). I've been keeping my eye on ebay and craigslist and recently saw a reef setup in a 120 gallon tank. The owner emailed me the dimensions and they are 48" wide and 30" deep. The width actually fits very well in my apt. but I am worried about the depth. I didnt even think about reaching down to the bottom but now that you point that out I realized that it will most likely be too deep for me to safely reach the bottom of the tank.

 

[House of Laughter]

J,

The 120 that is 30" deep might be as little as 18" wide - personally, I hate that dimension as it leaves little room for aquascaping as well as creating a comfortable living place for your inhabitants - not to mention, you have to have arms like Kareem Abdul Jabar to reach the bottom :smile:

I personally prefer the 24" deep and 24" wide dimension - length is to your desire.

As for lighting, Chris is right in his note - you have to give us a starting point to understand what you may need to do tank wise if you don't plan on upgrading your lights - keeping in mind that upgrades typically mean across the board, lighting included.

Let us know what you have, or plan on getting and we can better help you with maximum depth recommendations that can guide you in tank choice.

House

 

[jejton]

Well I decided against the tank after pulling out my tape measure and comparing it to my 72 BF ( fw planted ). Anyway when I do find the tank I want I will try to stick with softies and some of the easier LPS at most. I still havent decided between T5 and PC - havent really seen any persuasive arguments for either over another - but was wondering if MH would have been necessary had I chosen to buy that tank. I guess its a mute question now anyway.