55 Gallon Hex Tank

Discussion in 'Metal Halide Aquarium Lighting' started by tiopotato, Jul 5, 2012.

to remove this notice and enjoy 3reef content with less ads. 3reef membership is free.

  1. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8
    I'm thinking about starting up a 55 gallon hex tank I have. I have a 175 W metal halide that I can use for it's lighting. What are your thoughts on 175 watts for a fairly deep tank? It's almost 2.5 feet deep. I'm only interested in putting soft corals and some fish in it. Also, do you know of any brackets that would hold a reflector to the top and not have to hang it?:confused:
     
  2. Click Here!

  3. fishluver

    fishluver Sea Dragon

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2009
    Messages:
    542
    Location:
    Chicago Illinois
    The lighting should be fine for what you want to keep. and i dont know if it would be a good idea mounting the light on your tank, just because it could fall in, so probably hanging it would be the better option.
     
  4. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Messages:
    3,517
    Location:
    Central MA
    Just curious, why are you looking to do a hex tank? What are your plans for it (FOWLR or reef)? I only ask as that type of tank would really limit what fish you could successfully keep as it is not very wide. It would be fine for smaller, slower moving fish though. It would make a good reef tank though if you could stack the rocks in different levels I would think.
     
  5. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8
    I'm looking at putting in some xenia, green star polyps, and zoanthids probably; I want some color and movement. Also as far as fish, nothing special...just some chromis, damsels, clownfish.

    I know a hex is limiting. You don't have much space to move things around. It used to be my brother's and I ended up inheriting it. I'm sick of the regular 55 gallon I had(not a hexagon) because I didn't like the depth. I rather more of a box shape than a thin rectangle. I want to set up the hex because I don't have the budget to purchase a new tank, but have most of what I need to start up this hex.
     
  6. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Messages:
    3,517
    Location:
    Central MA
    That sounds like a decent setup for that tank. FWIW I actually like hex tanks! As far as brackets for lighting, do you have a canopy on the tank? If you do you can easily come up with something homemade from the Homedepot.
     
  7. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8

    It has a pretty nice canopy but my only worry is how close it'll be to the water. I'm going to have to see where the water level will be at once I get an overflow box. I'm fairly certain I'll need a fan to circulate air as well.
     
  8. Click Here!

  9. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8
    At first I wasn't considering mounting it to the canopy, but when you asked I put the reflector inside the canopy to see if it fits. It would fit nice assuming it has enough space from the water
     
  10. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8
    Is this too close to the water to mount?

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    There's about half an inch from the reflector to where the canopy sits on the top of the glass. Don't have an overflow box yet to know where the level of the water will be.
     
  11. tiopotato

    tiopotato Plankton

    Joined:
    Jul 3, 2012
    Messages:
    8
    and that's assuming I can mount the reflector flush with the wood.
     
  12. Marshall O

    Marshall O Giant Squid

    Joined:
    Jun 19, 2012
    Messages:
    3,517
    Location:
    Central MA
    That may be a little too tight. I have an 8" high canopy on my 55 gal, and I mounted my LED lighting as high as I could. It's about 3" from the water which I am comfortable with. You could either get a slimmer housing, or maybe change the lighting altogether. Now if you have glass protecting the housing, I wouldn't worry about it.