lanman October 5, 2007 Share October 5, 2007 (edited) I will be picking up Bemmer's tank on Sunday. Thought I should start figuring out what to do with it. FIRST up on the table - lighting suggestions. The tank is 5' x 3'. I am a fan of T5's, though I wouldn't mind having a couple of 150W MH's on there for sparkle and shine. 5-foot fixtures are hard to find. Would it make any sense to put multiple 3-foot fixtures on there front-back?? I could have T-5 | MH | T-5 | MH | T-5 Or something like that. Suggestions, recommendations, deprecations? Thanks, bob Edited October 5, 2007 by lanman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer October 5, 2007 Share October 5, 2007 Very exciting! Can't help you on the lighting, but look forward to following along!! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 5, 2007 Share October 5, 2007 big toys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NSC October 5, 2007 Share October 5, 2007 If you don't want to go with retrofit canopy(might save a little cash) that is probably the best bet! You say its 5'x3' how tall is the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 6, 2007 Share October 6, 2007 bob- I'm a big fan of mixing up the lighting. I think you should do a canopy with retro fitted lighting. Being 3' deep you can really get a good mixture. I would go with this front to back in your new retrofitted canopy: 2 5' VHO Super Actinics 3 5' T5 Blue Plus 3 175w 10K DE MH on magnetic ballasts 3 5' T5 Blue Plus 2 5' VHO Super Actinics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 October 6, 2007 Share October 6, 2007 bob- I'm a big fan of mixing up the lighting. I think you should do a canopy with retro fitted lighting. Being 3' deep you can really get a good mixture. I would go with this front to back in your new retrofitted canopy: 2 5' VHO Super Actinics 3 5' T5 Blue Plus 3 175w 10K DE MH on magnetic ballasts 3 5' T5 Blue Plus 2 5' VHO Super Actinics That sounds familiar I'd run 2ea 400's though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 October 6, 2007 Share October 6, 2007 Bob, what is the height of the tank? I second Dan's comment, I'd go with 400s on that area in a Lumenarc. That will cover the area you are looking at depth wise and you can do a couple of them side by side or go with three side by side and get tons of light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 6, 2007 Author Share October 6, 2007 (edited) If I remember the discussion about tall tanks and short tanks correctly - the tank is 27" tall. I didn't go with the 31" tall 210 because it was too tall for my short arms. Retro this, retro that... 400-watt luminarcs... I want to keep the heat and noise DOWN, even though it is in the cool basement; I want to make the wiring reasonably simple. I'm a computer guy - but I haven't built my own computers for the last 5-6 years (simplification). I'm an electronics technician - but I don't want to spend my days looking for loose wires and scraping salt off connections (simplification). I am NOT an HVAC engineer; I don't want to run fans and air ducts and drill holes in walls and ceilings (except for the generator wiring) if I don't absolutely have to. As much as I appreciated Bemmer's build - it was more complicated than I want mine to be. Edit: I am willing to spend more money for reliable and simple. Lights is a one-time expense; electric bills are forever. bob I found it - the tank is 24" tall. A nice short one! bob Edited October 6, 2007 by lanman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnybv October 6, 2007 Share October 6, 2007 Bob, I run on my 210 3 250 W ushios in full size lumenarcs, and 2 160w VHO actinics. john bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 7, 2007 Author Share October 7, 2007 I'm thinking more along the lines of 5 complete 36" fixtures: 4x39W T5 -- 2x150W HQI -- 4x39W T5 -- 2x150W HQI -- 4x39W T5 Or running the LONG dimension - 3 complete 60" fixtures: 4x80W T5 -- 2x250W HQI -- 4x80W T5 Is that a reasonable choice - other than the cost? bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 7, 2007 Share October 7, 2007 If you're going with ready-made fixtures, I would tend to think that 36" ones would be the easiest to work with and more versatile than the 60" ones, but the 60" might look better from the front of the tank. Is there any reason you couldn't do 60" in front and 36"s in back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer October 7, 2007 Share October 7, 2007 I dunno, Bob. The more I read, the more I like all T5....although you will miss out on that pin-point sparkle factor. If you do decide to mix (this is from my architecture lighting background....not aquarium knowledge), I'd do the larger fixtures front to back. Great to see you today! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak October 8, 2007 Share October 8, 2007 T 5's a such a sweet deal, good par, low heat, last longer, smaller, pretty cheap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 8, 2007 Author Share October 8, 2007 I dunno, Bob. The more I read, the more I like all T5....although you will miss out on that pin-point sparkle factor. If you do decide to mix (this is from my architecture lighting background....not aquarium knowledge), I'd do the larger fixtures front to back. Great to see you today! Tracy Nice to see you, too! There are sparkle options - they make an LED light bar now that is supposed to give MH sparkle to the water. But of course I can't find it now. It has 6 LED clusters; comes in white and actinic. Of course there are some lights I would consider a little 'out of my price range': http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_p...t_ID=pfo-s67038 Even though there are fewer choices of 5' fixtures, I think the choices I need are there. I was surprised to find that only a few places make 2x150 3' fixtures. The problem with 3' is that I would have a hard time putting any kind of canopy over them - the MH fixtures would be trying to pull air through from front-back; and vent holes in the front would be rather unsightly. So I'll probably end up with 60" lights. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal October 8, 2007 Share October 8, 2007 T 5's a such a sweet deal, good par, low heat, last longer, smaller, pretty cheap yea for me it was the shimmer but other than that you cant argue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 20, 2007 Author Share October 20, 2007 (edited) Have wood, must build... I am about to start building the stand for the tank. It is 3' x 5'. Is it important that I build the frame 3' x 5', so that the tank is sitting over the 2x4's - or would it be okay to build it 4' x 6' - so that I have a 6" edge around it, i.e. - the tank would be sitting in the middle of the stand. My thinking is that the 3/4" plywood, and the 3/4" foam that I plan to have on top would spread out the load so that it wouldn't matter where the tank sits. Agreed?? The other option is to build the stand 3' x 5' - but cut the plywood 4' x 6'. Q2 - - height. I was over at Dandy's house, and saw his tank. Eye-level for us short guys is right at mid-tank. I kind of liked that - it was 'absorbing' not to have to look 'down' at anything. Any problems with building my stand fairly tall? Would it weaken the structure at all (I don't have welded steel like Dan). Progress so far: Thanks, bob Edited October 20, 2007 by lanman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 20, 2007 Share October 20, 2007 (edited) Bob - If you want to have a ledge around the tank to stack stuff on, here's what you do. You want the legs to be directly under the weight points of the tank. You can always build the stand to support the tank, then build a 6" (or however big an overlap) ledge around the tank and cut the plywood to cover the entire thing. I didn't explain it the best but does that make sense? the height of the tank won't matter.........figure out how tall you want it so you can look directly into it and you're good to go. Edited October 20, 2007 by steveoutlaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 20, 2007 Author Share October 20, 2007 Bob - If you want to have a ledge around the tank to stack stuff on, here's what you do. You want the legs to be directly under the weight points of the tank. You can always build the stand to support the tank, then build a 6" (or however big an overlap) ledge around the tank and cut the plywood to cover the entire thing. I didn't explain it the best but does that make sense? the height of the tank won't matter.........figure out how tall you want it so you can look directly into it and you're good to go. Yeah - that was my option 2. 3x5 stand, with a 4x6 of plywood on top. Option 1 requires that with 3/4" plywood and foam there would be no 'weight points'. But I guess it's better safe than sorry. I was hoping to get a little more space 'under' the stand, so I could separate out a compartment for electricals. Can't put a 5' sump under a 5' stand, either. I have a 3' tank on a 4' stand right now - but that 2,000 pound weight difference is probably significant. Saying the height doesn't matter is like saying there's no difference building a 96-story building and a 2-story building. But as long as you think the difference is insignificant, I'll believe you! You have been a successful stand-builder! Thanks for the input! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 20, 2007 Share October 20, 2007 I would just build a 4x6 frame for the PW and than make the actual size stand inside of that so it hits the tank with thes still part of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw October 20, 2007 Share October 20, 2007 Well, you said you wanted to build the stand so the tank is at eye level..........last time I checked you weren't 10' tall! You could always use a 90g for a sump........that will also leave you over a foot in front for all your accessories (ATO, kalk reactor, calcium reactor, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak October 21, 2007 Share October 21, 2007 it's a bob fish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 October 21, 2007 Share October 21, 2007 The other option is to build the stand 3' x 5' - but cut the plywood 4' x 6'. Yes and use 3/4" ply. Then put 3/4" foam on the entire 4x6. Then lay 1x6 around the perimeter of the tank on top of the foam. You are left with a 2 1/4" border, this happens to be a very common trim size. Couple finishing nails and you have a simple but nice looking pedestal. My stand is 42" just so you have a reference point. My wife is 5'6" and needs a step stool just to feed the fish. I am 6'1" and can reach the bottom of the tank with tongs while standing flatfooted. Take a look at tgallows stand in the sale forum. We built that one 42" tall out of lumber in 4 hours. The only way it would ever come down is the way it is happening now..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla October 21, 2007 Share October 21, 2007 Bob- With a little more elbow grease. That tank should look like new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman October 21, 2007 Author Share October 21, 2007 Yes and use 3/4" ply. Then put 3/4" foam on the entire 4x6. Then lay 1x6 around the perimeter of the tank on top of the foam. You are left with a 2 1/4" border, this happens to be a very common trim size. Couple finishing nails and you have a simple but nice looking pedestal. My stand is 42" just so you have a reference point. My wife is 5'6" and needs a step stool just to feed the fish. I am 6'1" and can reach the bottom of the tank with tongs while standing flatfooted. Take a look at tgallows stand in the sale forum. We built that one 42" tall out of lumber in 4 hours. The only way it would ever come down is the way it is happening now..... I was planning 2x4's, like Steve's stand: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...10g+tank+thread See any problems with that basic design? Being closer to your wife's height than yours... I have an A+ efficiency rating with step stools of various sorts. I may even build a 'box' to stand on, with spring-loaded casters so I can move it easily. I don't see how I'm left with a 2.25" border when visualizing it - but I'll lay it down on paper. Gotta get SOME use out of that drafting course I took 40 years ago... Thanks for the help! bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigJPDC October 21, 2007 Share October 21, 2007 Bob - another option would be to build out posts on the corners and rest your ledge on the posts - i.e. the whole fireplace mantle design. If you aren't going to be standing on it, just resting elbows and margaritas, then you don't have to worry about strength. I just measured and my ledge is 3" on the sides and 5" in front and I would be fine with 1-2" more. HTH, jp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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