100 gallon tank, how would you light it?

[Inimicus]

I have 100 gallon tank. its 72x18x18. I'd really love to set it up as a reef tank with a DSB. If i go with a 4 to 5 inch bed its going to be a real shallow tank. Oddly enough that appeals to me because its different that all of the other reef tanks that i've seen in person.

I cant for the life of me decide what lighting to look into. I have been hunting down info on T 5 lighting for a smaller reef idea that i was pondering.

My long term goals for this tank would be eventually SPS corals and maybe a couple clams. I was hoping to have enough open space to make it look more natural and less like the berlin wall i've been staring at work for the last three weeks.

But for now i was just trying to get my components mapped out so i can figure out how much it going to jump my power bill.

I was looking at 4 150 watt HQI metal hide pendants but i've been reading that they might now push enough light compared to 250 watt lights. After the sand bed is added (still studying the pro's and cons to a plenum) i'm going to have about 13-14 inches of water to push through to reach the bottom. My main concern is actually over lighting the tanks inhabitants.

In my first reef ( a 15 gallon tall) i didnt have enought, my FOWLR is just that light enoguh to see the fish and slowly increase the coraline. This time i'd like to be able to work with a bigger variety of critters.

The start up is going to be slow for this, i wont be able to just dump 100 lbs of rock in, it'll be basically a huge sand bed for awhile.

I currently have access to about 450 lbs of suitable sand (found a person who laid in southdown like a leprechaun does gold). So i figured before i buy and place the sand i'd ask for ideas on lighting. Filtration i think i have a workable understanding of its the lighting i dont have experience with since i'm a FW junkie for 20 years .

thanks for the input and ideas, if it gets to be too much on the power bill i'll fall back on the 50 gallon breeder idea i've been pondering for awhile.

Take care and be well safe and happy

Jason

[Tangster]

Well if I where doing this I'd have 3 175 M/H's 10,000 K and two VHO actinic's The 175 will push light plenty deep enough into a tank shallow and will save you on electricity and heat. As for the DSB ??? Thats your call I like to think my tanks will run longer then a few yrs and trouble free I hate to mess with a tank all the time with water changes and cleaning sand and stirring this and that.. Not my cup of tea so to speak . But you can always go with as much wattage as you want.. My so runs a acrylic 100 that is 24 tall and 4.5 ft long and we put the 175's on it to keep the heat off of the acrylic and its running just fine LPS and SPS and about 5 maybe 6 yrs now..No DSB though we just say no (:

[90_Berlin_joe]

Iminicus,

When I first entered the hobby 2 years ago I would have agreed with Tangster with the MH option and would have most likely gone that direction if I had the money back then. After alot or research and testing done I choose the T5-HO by TEK. Due to it performance and ability to run cooler, longer and with less hasel than the MH. My suggestion to you would be go with 2 T5-ho TEK's with 4 bulbs. This would be enough lighting for all sps and clams that you could add to your tank.

With the DSB just keep enough critters that will keep the sand stired up and you will not need to mix up the sand. I suggest around 40 Nassarius snails and 2 sand sifting starfish. This will keep your DSB maintained and able to do its job.

Good luck with what ever way you go, just make sure you post some pics of your tank when it is up and running.

[Inimicus]

i've also looked at a friends tank that has a bare bottomr display with a remote DSB in a smaller tank. his display is a 75 gallon and the refugium is a 50 breeder with four inches of sand and about as much chaeto as can be packed into the space. Has anyone else tried this? Seems to keep his nitrates down with out the current making a massive sand storm in the tank. The bonus as he phrased it was if something screws up he can shut it off the system and deal with the hassle with out the display getting disturbed too much.

appearances outside the tank arent really of a high concern for me at the moment as it will be in my tiny fish room and i'd rather be able to see and work on things than have to loose sleep trying to stick one more item into a stand.

i havent priced out 175 watt halides yet for some reason that never crossed my mind.

i've read the threads on the BB vs DSB on RC and for some reason i gets to be a bit too much ego and not enough numbers for me determine what one is best outside of personal prefernce.

i'm always willing to listen to ideas on anything (especially since the tank is still dusty and not remotely ready for set up). I ask the customers that come to the LFS i work at and i've heard everything under the sun and oddly enough a few things that i would have figured should have killed everything in their tank.

Thanks for the lighting set up idea, i'll see what i can find out, 72 inches is the longest tank i have by far and i'm not used to trying to rig stuff for it yet

jason

[rickzter]

Originally Posted by Inimicus

i've also looked at a friends tank that has a bare bottomr display with a remote DSB in a smaller tank. his display is a 75 gallon and the refugium is a 50 breeder with four inches of sand and about as much chaeto as can be packed into the space. Has anyone else tried this? Seems to keep his nitrates down with out the current making a massive sand storm in the tank. The bonus as he phrased it was if something screws up he can shut it off the system and deal with the hassle with out the display getting disturbed too much.

appearances outside the tank arent really of a high concern for me at the moment as it will be in my tiny fish room and i'd rather be able to see and work on things than have to loose sleep trying to stick one more item into a stand.

i havent priced out 175 watt halides yet for some reason that never crossed my mind.

i've read the threads on the BB vs DSB on RC and for some reason i gets to be a bit too much ego and not enough numbers for me determine what one is best outside of personal prefernce.

i'm always willing to listen to ideas on anything (especially since the tank is still dusty and not remotely ready for set up). I ask the customers that come to the LFS i work at and i've heard everything under the sun and oddly enough a few things that i would have figured should have killed everything in their tank.

Thanks for the lighting set up idea, i'll see what i can find out, 72 inches is the longest tank i have by far and i'm not used to trying to rig stuff for it yet

jason

In response to the titles question, it's a matter of tank dimensions and corals of choice for the setup.