Flow And Lighting Recommendations for Deep Blue 74 Rimless Tower

[firetire100]

Hello Everyone!

I've been a long time lurker on Reef Central, and I've been out of the hobby for a little over 6 years. I'm getting ready to set up a new Deep Blue 74 Gallon Rimless Tower -24x24x30- and I'm looking for suggestions on lighting and flow. I am planning on keeping mostly SPS in this tank.

For lighting, I am thinking LEDs, maybe supplemented with t5s. I know for this depth, some of you will say MH is the way to go, but the engineer side of me says LEDs are cool, and the side of me trying to keep my wife happy says they use too much power. That said, what would your dream lighting solution for this sort of tank be? Which LED fixture or fixtures would you recommend. Do you think I need to supplement with t5s to avoid shadowing? I would like to keep my lighting budget within $1000. The less I spend, the more I get to spend on coral.

As for my return pump, I'm going back and forth between a Jebao DCT-6000 pump, and a Vectra S1. My main concern is flow from powerheads within the tank. At first, I was thinking of going with 2 or 3 MP10s since it is a tower tank, so i could have them at different levels within the tank. Unfortunately I believe the glass is going to be 1/2", so that rules out the MP10s. So that lead me to the MP40. When I run Ecotech's flow calculator, though, the SPS recommended flow is right above the minimum possible for 2 MP40s, and I don't think 1 will cut it with the way the tank is shaped. Any suggestions and input here would be appreciated.

Also if anyone has this tank, I would really appreciate knowing what the glass thickness is. I can't find it anywhere online, and i haven't gotten a response from Deep Blue.

Thanks in advance!

[firetire100]

I'm also open to other poweheads than the ecotechs. That is just what I have experience with.

[smatter]

Two Kessil A360Ns for penetration and minimal light spill. Make sure you weigh all the cons of a tall narrow tank before proceeding.

[firetire100]

Two Kessil A360Ns for penetration and minimal light spill. Make sure you weigh all the cons of a tall narrow tank before proceeding.

Thanks for the advice! Would it be worth supplementing those with t5s?

I appreciate the word of caution on the tanks size. I am aware of the challenges with such a tank, and I think it is worth the hassle. I really like the look of tall tanks.

Also I got a response from Deep Blue, and the glass is 12mm thick, so that rules out the MP10 :(

[smatter]

Cool, just wanted to throw that out there, I like the looks of tall tanks too. As for T5 supplementation, there will be no need. Personally I think T5s kind of ruin the Kessil aesthetic. They wash out a lot of the shimmer, and the small form factor is negated by adding clunky fluorescents. Two of the 360Ns aimed slightly inward in an "X" configuration will allow you to grow anything. Oh and definitely get the mounting brackets over the goosenecks, they are vastly superior.

I'm a Tunze fan so that's where I'd be shopping for flow. Perhaps one Stream 3 positioned low and behind the rockwork. Also look into the Vivid Creative Aquatics RFG nozzles. They are ingenious! On one of my smaller tanks one RFG and a Tunze DC return pump provide all the flow. The swirling water makes waves in there.