Tropical Fish Forums

[TimL]

Hi guys,

A few questions, I am about to change my tank design around, especially the lighting side of things. I'm converting over to flourescent lights, metal halides are a bit pricey for me at this stage.

I am yet to research which fluoro's are best for my tank, but I am wondering how well the light spreads, I have a 6 foot tank, will a 4 foot fluoro sit in the middle and make enough light for the ends of the tank?
I will probably end up putting 3-5 fluoro's in the final design.

Also looking into "moonlights" if anyone has some handy links..

Another thing is that I'm putting in an under tank sump. I was going to drill a hole in the side of the tank using my dremel tool, 3 holes in total, 2 on the back side at each end, as the inlet to the sump, and 1 return back into the tank. Providing I can get the powerhead(s) in the sump to return the large quantity of water back to the display tank, can anyone see any other problems?

Last one, the order in the sump..
Inlet -> Sponges/Filter pads -> Bioballs -> Refugium -> Heaters + Regular filters -> Powerhead -> Outlet

Look OK?

Thanks in advance for your help guys, sorry it's such a long post.

Tim.
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Still waiting for cycling to complete.. 2 weeks down so far.

[sirreal63]

I'll poke at a few of these questions...4' flourescents won't adequately light a 6' tank on the ends. I did it last night, the 125 is a 6' tank and since almost all of my corals are in another tank now I shut down the halides and put a 260 watt PC on the tank. The ends are barely lit at all but since it is fish only no biggie. Spread those lights out or use 3' bulbs. I suggest T5's with the correct reflectors.

On the sump, lose the Sponges/Filter pads -> Bioballs and the regular filters, they aren't really needed and can cause issues. Everything wlse looks OK.

What are you going to keep in this tank?
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Out on the road today...I saw a DeadHead sticker on a Cadillac...
Jack
110 Gallon DSA Pentagon

[FloridaBoy]

[TimL]

hey guys,

Probably some clownfish, tangs, and maybe a royal gramma or 2. I wil go for more once I am happy that the tank will be able to support it.

I have decided that I will go the 6' fluoros, but stagger them across the lid. I still have to be able to feed the little guys, so I might have to look into custom fluoro setups..

In terms of setting up the sump, do people recommend drilling the glass or is a syphon system still a reasonable option. The drilled tank seems much safer IMO, so I have some glass to practice here on but any hints/tips/cautions are welcome.

Also, just noticed on the heaters that I've been using for ~8 months, the internals seem to have gone green, like the algae is inside the heater.. is this normal, should I see discolouration of the heater over time? The whole setup will be hooked into an RCD and circuit breaker, but I still would rather replace the heaters if need be.

Will regular fluoro tubes be okay? I was planning on a pair of the tubes from the aquarium shop, with another 4 regular tubes.. for 6x 6' globes..

So a drop from the main tank, into the refugium, into the heaters and skimmers (forgot to mention the skimmers in my last post) through the regular internal filters (I already have them so may as well use them, handy place for chemical media), then return via the powerhead.. What are the disadvantages to the regular filters??


thanks again for your help guys,

Tim.
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Still waiting for cycling to complete.. 2 weeks down so far.