Prop Tank...Lighting and Flow Questions

FishDad2 · 11/10/2007, 08:24 AM

I'm getting ready to setup my first prop tank. I'll mainly be propagating acro and monti frags, but I'll also want to do some zoos, start polys and gorgonians. Primary concern are the acros and montis though.

The plan is to install a 48"x12"x12" tank, mainly because the space I have to install the tank limits me to those rough maximum dimension, and to use a single 20,000k halide lamp for illumination. I figure that with only 1 lamp, as opposed to 2, I can place it closer to one end of the tank than the other and in doing so create an area of high light intensity at one end that diminishes as you move towards the other end of the tank. This will give me a good lighting zone for the acros and montis in close proximity to the lamp, and a less bright zone for the gorgonians, etc. as you move farther away from the lamp.

If I do it right, seting up the light so it's easily moved, I'll be able to make adjustments in the lighting zones without disturbing any of the frags.

So, that's the plan...now for the questions.

Lighting

1. What wattage halide to use? 20,000k bulb preferred.

2. What lighting system (make & model) to use?

The trick here is that I'm placing the tank on some shelving I have, and there will be about 9 to 9.5" of space from the top edge of the tank to the underside of the shelf above. The shelves are fixed and cannot be moved.

So, something with a low profile will be best...keep it off the water a bit and also leave room for me to reach into the tank, hopefully without burning myself.

3. Creative mounting solution that will allow me to easily move the lighting from side to side along the length of the tank so I can make lighting adjustments as needed or just move it out of the way for maintenance. I'm thinking some kind of slide rails but have no ide where to start.

The shelving above is 3/4" plywood, so screwing a mounting system in will be easy and effective.

Flow

I have a MagDrive 9.5 pump and could use that...save me the $ of buying something else. At ~6' of head pressure, the flow rate for that pump is listed at 720 gph. Given that this tank is about 30 gallons, that translates to a tunrover rate of about 24x per hour.

1. Too much or too little flow? What's your recommendation?

The community is yet to steer me wrong, and I'd much rather do it right the first time...saves lots of $.

Thanks,
Chris

FishDad2 · 11/10/2007, 08:59 AM

Its only been about half an hour since I posted this and already I've made a modification...lol.

Anyway, I fiddled around with some things and now figure I have room for slightly larger tank...48"x18"12".

With the 6 extra inches in width, it's now a 55 gallon tank, as opposed to the 30 gallon I originally proposed.

So, do you think the lighting I'm proposing is sufficient or do I really need a multi-bulb setup now?

And as for the flow, with the larger tank, the MagDrive 9.5 only provides about 13x turnover at 6' of head pressure. Is that enough or do I need to buy something bigger?

Thanks again.

Chris

11/10/2007, 08:24 AM	#1
FishDad2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 662	Prop Tank...Lighting and Flow Questions I'm getting ready to setup my first prop tank. I'll mainly be propagating acro and monti frags, but I'll also want to do some zoos, start polys and gorgonians. Primary concern are the acros and montis though. The plan is to install a 48"x12"x12" tank, mainly because the space I have to install the tank limits me to those rough maximum dimension, and to use a single 20,000k halide lamp for illumination. I figure that with only 1 lamp, as opposed to 2, I can place it closer to one end of the tank than the other and in doing so create an area of high light intensity at one end that diminishes as you move towards the other end of the tank. This will give me a good lighting zone for the acros and montis in close proximity to the lamp, and a less bright zone for the gorgonians, etc. as you move farther away from the lamp. If I do it right, seting up the light so it's easily moved, I'll be able to make adjustments in the lighting zones without disturbing any of the frags. So, that's the plan...now for the questions. Lighting 1. What wattage halide to use? 20,000k bulb preferred. 2. What lighting system (make & model) to use? The trick here is that I'm placing the tank on some shelving I have, and there will be about 9 to 9.5" of space from the top edge of the tank to the underside of the shelf above. The shelves are fixed and cannot be moved. So, something with a low profile will be best...keep it off the water a bit and also leave room for me to reach into the tank, hopefully without burning myself. 3. Creative mounting solution that will allow me to easily move the lighting from side to side along the length of the tank so I can make lighting adjustments as needed or just move it out of the way for maintenance. I'm thinking some kind of slide rails but have no ide where to start. The shelving above is 3/4" plywood, so screwing a mounting system in will be easy and effective. Flow I have a MagDrive 9.5 pump and could use that...save me the $ of buying something else. At ~6' of head pressure, the flow rate for that pump is listed at 720 gph. Given that this tank is about 30 gallons, that translates to a tunrover rate of about 24x per hour. 1. Too much or too little flow? What's your recommendation? The community is yet to steer me wrong, and I'd much rather do it right the first time...saves lots of $. Thanks, Chris

11/10/2007, 08:59 AM	#2
FishDad2 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 662	Its only been about half an hour since I posted this and already I've made a modification...lol. Anyway, I fiddled around with some things and now figure I have room for slightly larger tank...48"x18"12". With the 6 extra inches in width, it's now a 55 gallon tank, as opposed to the 30 gallon I originally proposed. So, do you think the lighting I'm proposing is sufficient or do I really need a multi-bulb setup now? And as for the flow, with the larger tank, the MagDrive 9.5 only provides about 13x turnover at 6' of head pressure. Is that enough or do I need to buy something bigger? Thanks again. Chris