Lighting for a 5 foot deep tank

[SlowAndStupid]

Currently cleaning out the remnants of my freshwater tank in preparation for converting to saltwater. Measurements of this tank are 7 feet long by 3 feet wide by 5 feet tall. As I clean everything out I am trying to plan as well.

I would like to have some sort of mixed reef tank. I suspect par numbers for something so deep will be low at the bottom but I'd like to do my best to keep my coral options open. What kind of lights should I be looking at? It looks like kessil a500x's with the 35 degree lenses are good option for punching deep into the water. Are there any other options I could be looking at? I suspect that I would supplement with t5's for more diffuse lighting as well.

 

[AquaLogic]

For that deep your only good option are multiple kessil a500x with 35 degree reflectors, as far as I’m aware. Great lights. Love mine. I would personally supplement with led bars rather than t5, but that’s an aesthetic decision.

 

[SlowAndStupid]

That was my suspicion from my own research as well but didn't know if I was missing something.

 

[KrisReef]

Tall rock scapes can decrease the depth issue.

 

[JGT]

That’s got to be a bear as far as maintenance goes. No way your reaching the bottom without tongs.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Currently cleaning out the remnants of my freshwater tank in preparation for converting to saltwater. Measurements of this tank are 7 feet long by 3 feet wide by 5 feet tall. As I clean everything out I am trying to plan as well.

I would like to have some sort of mixed reef tank. I suspect par numbers for something so deep will be low at the bottom but I'd like to do my best to keep my coral options open. What kind of lights should I be looking at? It looks like kessil a500x's with the 35 degree lenses are good option for punching deep into the water. Are there any other options I could be looking at? I suspect that I would supplement with t5's for more diffuse lighting as well.

Some good lights out there are:

Orphek Atlantik (ones I use)
Noopsyche K7 pro
Reef Breeders Photon
Ecoteck LED's

 

[SlowAndStupid]

Tha k you for the suggestions. I'll check these out. And yes, maintenance is rough. Throw on the bathing suit and climb in to clean the glass.

 

[907_Reefer]

I can't add for lighting but you should definitely post and link a build thread in here when you get rolling!

 

[Joekovar]

Tha k you for the suggestions. I'll check these out. And yes, maintenance is rough. Throw on the bathing suit and climb in to clean the glass.

You need an MP40 power head and a mag float to have a baby. Magnetically coupled scrubber/scraper that rotates and rolls on rubber balls.

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

How thick is the acrylic on your tank?

 

[Mikeltee]

400w metal halides although thermal management would come into play. This would be a great question for Polo Reef. I bet that he would give his opinion if you asked in his FB group. He loves to chime in and this question is right up his alley.

 

[A. grandis]

Currently cleaning out the remnants of my freshwater tank in preparation for converting to saltwater. Measurements of this tank are 7 feet long by 3 feet wide by 5 feet tall. As I clean everything out I am trying to plan as well.

I would like to have some sort of mixed reef tank. I suspect par numbers for something so deep will be low at the bottom but I'd like to do my best to keep my coral options open. What kind of lights should I be looking at? It looks like kessil a500x's with the 35 degree lenses are good option for punching deep into the water. Are there any other options I could be looking at? I suspect that I would supplement with t5's for more diffuse lighting as well.

To use T5s for a tank like that is a waste of time because it's way too deep for T5s.
Get some 1000W metal halide lamps over the system and call it a happy day! You will need those round halide pendants, like they use for the public aquariums.
Forget about the cannon LED lights or similar. They are not worth it!

 

[DanyL]

Depending on how much PAR you want to push, you might want to checkout the ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pro with the 60 degree add on.
Talk to Daniel Lu, the owner - he can likely assist you with calculations and give you an approximate.

Here’s my comment from another thread, it’s a bit different because unlike the guy in this thread where he want to mount the lights high above a shallow tank, yours is taller, so it’ll need to penetrate more water.
But still, it’s something I would consider checking out because it might be enough for your needs.

I won’t participate in this ridiculous MH vs LED discussion, I will only say that fanatics on any side of the spectrum can’t and wouldn’t accept anything but their own opinions, and them forcing it on others would only make people stay away from wanting to have a civilized discussion with them.
All three options are good and need to be considered, as long as they achieve your goals.

My frag tank is 46X25x16, I use 2 ReeFi Uno 2.0 Pros about 20” above water line with the 90 degree reeflectors @ 219W per fixture and get 380 PAR on the ground.

While I don’t have a sand bed to show how white it is, you can see it by looking at the true colors of the fish, and in real life it is also very, very bright and those who’ve seen it said it reassembles the look and feel of a MH/T5 hybrid.

It has a wide spectrum and enough spare power to choose your own to your liking, while preserving the ability to achieve high PAR numbers, even at a much higher mounting points.

It does come with true UVA, and one that actually isn’t getting filtered out by a plastic cover on the fixture itself, and is able to penetrate the water.

It is able penetrate even at higher mounting heights by using the 60 deg reeflectors - when I tried them, I could at most mount the lights at around 31” and it was too focused for me, I would say 45-50” would be perfect for them.

It has a really nice shimmer, it’s subtle but noticeable.

Notice the shimmer?

Just food for thought.

 

[SlowAndStupid]

Thanks for suggestions. I'll look into these further.

I'm concerned metal halides would get too hot. And my acrylic measures 1.25 inches thick.

 

[Kzang]

You ever thought about doing a deep sandbed with it? It’s solve the depth issue a good bit by having a foot or two of sand. Helps with nitrates and all that.

You’re rock won’t be as deep and easier to reach.

 

[GARRIGA]

I've suggested this in the past. Unless one wants all that depth for fish to swim and rather have a shallower experience to keep corals then raise the bottom. Drill the bottom in several locations, add a crate like undergravel/plenum and fill the bottom with enough gravel or preferably pumice as that's lighter to get the depth required. Bottom now acts as the largest biological filter possible. Just use larger pumice such as Pond Matrix size to avoid channeling and dead spot. Manage nitrates with carbon dosing and for me problem solved. I've seriously considered this path. Place a plastic sheet such as used for ATS to separate the bottom from the preferred gravel. Not likely working with sand but it's an option. It's a closed loop system that is self contained biological.

My reasoning was to build a contained system to reduce the chance of leaks or noise. Keep equipment to a minimum. Keep it simple. Old school with new school twists such as dosing of carbon and other components and minimized or eliminated WC. Older I get. Lazier I get and where outside the box becomes pragmatic.

 

[Mikeltee]

Thanks for suggestions. I'll look into these further.

I'm concerned metal halides would get too hot. And my acrylic measures 1.25 inches thick.

They will definitely get hot. I used to run 6x 1000w in a 10x10 room. They were vented hoods so the exhaust went straight through the roof and I had an in window air conditioning unit. I maintained about 85F. The AC would run 24x7 and in the winter when it was less that 55F out, I would bring in cold air into the room. Mini-splits do not work for this application. The amount of LEDs that you will need will also require thermal management. Your application would require 4x 1000w HIDs I would assume. I'd start with one 400 watt MH and use a light meter. With HID, lumens is what you measure... not par.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

We use 400 and 1000 watt halides in good reflectors.

 

[jda]

You are not going to save any heat by using LEDs... it is just in different places. A watt is a watt. Either will save you in heater costs.

My general suggestion with these type of things is to only take advice from people have actually solved this problem. People mean well, but most do not know that their solutions for even a 30" deep tank do not scale like they think. This goes for pumps, flow, heat and everything else.

Public aquariums or folks with these kind of tanks will use a lot of 1000w and 400w halides, as said above. If you want to just keep corals near the top 24-30 inches, then that opens up more options. I think that 3x 1000w MH would be enough for most coral and then some dusk/dawn supplements just for illumination and not so much coral growth.

If you can find 220/240 fixtures from old ball parks, etc. these work pretty good if you clean and polish the reflectors. Some of these are 480v and will not work unless the tank is at a business where 480v is available - if it is, then get these high V ballasts since the power is much cheaper than a residential service.

If you are stuck at 110/120v, then Hydroponics stuff can be cheap too... a quick check on the Denver FB Marketplace has $25-40 electronic 1000w ballasts and $30 for good hoods. You can buy a lot of bulbs and still not be at the same price for a single LED unit and you might need 10 or 20 of them and save no power or heat. A hydroponics reflector MIGHT need bent to focus the light to punch more, but maybe not - this is easy.

I don't know who sells 1000w bulbs anymore, but Hamilton is supposed to get some back in stock.

 

[Shooter6]

Orphek has the light you need if you want leds. The a900 or something like that, I'll attach it in a moment

Amazonas 500 Aquarium LED Lighting • Orphek

Orphek Amazonas 500 LED light solution is developed specifically for public aquariums and venues displaying reef or freshwater aquariums.

orphek.com