which tank size for 1x150W HQI + 2x24W T5 (25"6)?

[krusty23]

Hi all,

Recently i bought this 1x150W HQI + 2X24W T5 Lamp (25.6 inches) for a reasonable price on ebay.

The HQi is 10000 K and the T5 are 20000 K

I want to set up a nano reef with it and have a tank custom made for this purpose that is somewhat cubical (As a european i don't have access to many of those ready made tanks all you american guys are using).

now as being a noob to nano reefs, my question is : Which tank size and measurements would be ideal for this lamp?

I've been thinking about keeping softies, zoanthids and the occasional clam on the sessile invertebrate side of things.

As far as filtration is concerned I want to run it with the tunze nano reefpack 200 (Nano DOC Skimmer 9002 & Nano Cleaner 3165) and lots of live rock. Is this adequate to the tank you might suggest? Are there better options?

As for flow(i plan on using 1 or 2 tunze nanostreams) and thermometer (Jaeger) wattage, that would depend on which tank size you might suggest. Any ideas what would be appropriate?

Advice would be much appreciated

 

[Entacmaea]

Welcome to reefs.org!

That 150 watt HQI would be ideal for 18" cube, once you go the 24" cube, if you want to keep clams, you might need to upgrade to 250 watt for best results. Since your t5's are 25", I guess I would go 25" wide, by 18" x 18" or just go for it and get a 24" cube.

 

[krusty23]

thank you.

I'm not objecting to a 18" cube, but I guess with my lighting fixture almost being 26" inch, that would look, eh, let's say less than ideal.

so the length would have to be 26", i guess, maybe 24" would also be allright?

About the height: My gf vetoes a too rectangular shape :roll:, so i got to go higher than than 18".
At least 20" she says, though higher would be better.

If I do that I would get a zone of less intense lighting at the bottom right?
Would that just look plain stupid, or could I use it for keeping animals, that require that kind of weaker lighting? E.g. I could have clams and stony corals on the top and some zoas and corallimorpharians in the bottom area?

If I go with the "shade"zone, how deep can you go then? The 24" cube you suggested? that would be nice. Maybe even 26"?

Then again that's maybe too big for a nano reef. The envisioned tunze nano reef pack is only good for 52 gallons, 26 gallons if you want to keep stony corals. Next sized reefpack would really hurt my wallet, *ouch*.
The 24" cube being 60g, i would need the filtration upgrade (maybe even a sump), if i wanted to keep stony corals, right? I guess even LOTS of live rock wouldn't be enough?

So I thought about making it 26"x18"x22" for a compromise between the desired look and the technical limitations of lighting and filtration. Is this the right size for the envisioned technical equipment, or can you make it any bigger, using extra live rock for filter power and keeping less fishes.

please bare with me, i know that's a long post with lot of questions, but there's just so much to think about when you're setting up a reef for the first time.

help would again be appreciated a lot.

 

[Entacmaea]

Well, right- the 150 watt MH alone would be ideal for an 18" cube. Since your T5's are too long, just scrap them and make your own hood with a actinic PC kit with shorter bulbs- if you really want a 18" cube.

That hood won't create noticable "shadows" toward the bottom of the tank. It will look uniformly bright to our eyes, but yes- you will get zones of higher light at the top and lower intensity toward the bottom.

Honestly, I would just go with the 24" cube, since you want a cube (or make it 26 x 24 x 24). I don't have any experience with the Tunze reef pack you mention, but in general, manufacturers gallonage for skimmers are over-stated. Most people use a skimmer that is oversized for their tank, sometimes by many times. For instance, using a skimmer rated for a 180 gallon on a 55 gallon tank... If the nano tunze is only rated for a 52 gallon, I would consider upgrading to something substantially bigger- even if you only go with a 30 gallon tank. This will give you more peace of mind...

Also, while live rock is a basis for biological filtration, stuffing a tank with tons of live rock in an effort to filter the water better is not necessarily prudent. In a tank you will reach a critical mass of rock, at which point water flow diminishes (not to mention the aesthetics of having nothing in the tank but a pile of rock!) and you will cause more problems with detritus, etc. It is better to balance less rock with a bigger skimmer. Having swimming space for fish is important as well. If you want to base your filtration more on Live Rock, best to have a remote sump or refugium with additional live rock, instead of in the display tank.

 

[krusty23]

allright, thanks again. you're being a voice of reason.

So basically, you're saying my lamp would be fine enough for 26x24x24 (if i keep less light craving animals at the bottom-zone i suppose)? I don't want to scrap that lamp, i want to build a system that is fitting it. If that craves building something rectangular, so be it.

I might want to upgrade later with a refugium, but for now i guess i'll stick with your recommendation of a bigger skimmer

BTW how much flow would you think that thing should have. 1600 l/h from the filter powerhead + 2500 l/h from the nanostream 6025; is that about right? Too much? Too little? What was the general rule? 10, 15, or 20 times the aquarium's size? I've read all three. Or does that again depend on, what you want to keep?

 

[cindre2000]

150 will be fine for a 24" deep tank. A lot of people say higher since "more light is better", which is wrong. Certain corals do need a lot of light to get their really nice coloration. However, a lot of corals require/need a lot less and look just as good. I feel that a lot of people think they need a whole lot more light than they really do, due to some difficult acros.

I can tell you right now I am growing a good number of LPS at the bottom of a 18" tank with 150w halides. They look a whole lot better than there counter parts in the 18" deep frag tank with 400w halides. The main thing is to know how much light your corals need, and to leave plenty of room at the top for the corals to grow up (to many people stack the rock as high as it will go).

 

[krusty23]

thanks a lot for helping me out, i appreciate it.

and cindre2000: you're absolutely right. i mean it's not that i want to have sps at the bottom (heck i don't want any of those fuzzy things in my first tank). Some clams and lps higher up, when my tank has matured, that would make me happy though. I suppose I don't need more lighting for that.

 

[Entacmaea]

You will definitely have more options in terms of corals to keep, especially with SPS, with 250 watts over a 24" cube. I'm not advocating a 250 watter simply because "more light is better", but in terms of penetration and keeping higher light SPS- and clams on the substrate- 250 watts will be better IMO.