light up a 240 cube for me

[ReeferMike]

So, after a short break with this hobby, im planning a 240 cube 48x48x24 to be my new tank. its the tank ive always wanted and im about ready to pull the trigger on a rimless reef-ready from glass cages. lighting this kind of footprint is what is throwing me:-|. im planning a mixed reef, so acros towards the top of the rock, zoos palys etc towards the bottom, and everything else in between. id like to achieve good light intensity, but not like what an sps dominated tank would require.

ive had great results with t5 lighting for the last few years, but in this case im not sure if thats the way to go. for one thing id need a ton of bulbs to cover the majority of the tank, and another thing they need to be so close to the water i think it would make it a pain to reach into the tank for maintenance without some sort of elaborate canopy with hydrolic lifts etc... (canopy will probably weigh a couple hundred pounds and either suspended from the ceiling or mounted to the wall behind the tank.) on the other hand, heat transfer and wattage would probably be less than halides, and i do try to be green whenever its convienient lol.

with halides im not really sure what to think, its been a few years since ive messed with them...but they would seem to offer some advantages. if i went this direction i was thinking of a couple 250watt bulbs with lumenbrights or something. could i get away with 2 halides in the middle with actinics on the sides or would i likely need 4 to light the whole tank? what would be the best reflector for the widest light spread? and then how wide would the spread be?

im just looking for opinions here so if you were to try to light a tank as described how exactly would you go about it?

thanks

[ReeferRob]

Dude...dream tank!!! If it were mine, I would do 4-6 AI LED fixtures, with another 4-6 Evilc Par LED spots.

[schminksbro]

I would do 3 250w halides set up in a slight v with lumenarc reflectors. I would use VHO actinics in the front and back to even things out.

[softiegirl]

Dude...dream tank!!! If it were mine, I would do 4-6 AI LED fixtures, with another 4-6 Evilc Par LED spots.

this would look awesome! but PREPARE to dig deep $$$$$$$$$$, im pretty partial to MH's myself, forgive my stupidity, but this tank will be 48 long by 48 wide by 24 high? Maybe try a few 250 watt pendants?

[ReeferMike]

rob, yea its my dream tank... atleast until my numbers come in this tank would become my refugium lol. can you pass along a link or two so i can read up about the leds your describing? they sound pretty sweet, but ive never heard of them.

schminksbro, im sure that would work pretty well thanks.

softiegirl, yep 4ft by 4ft by 2ft tall.... and yea im sure it will lighten up my pockets for me. probably around the tune of 3k just for the tank and basic equipment... only live once right?

[ReeferRob]

http://www.aquaillumination.com/
http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?cPath=74&products_id=623&osCsid=l2g7retmk2hqi4hrilumgvph17


Nanotuners.com is a sponsor here and the AI fixtures can be purchased through another sponsor Cherrycorals.com!

[streetrodder007]

Great links Rob, I am really considering buying some lighting like these for my new tank !

[ReeferMike]

the more im thinking abiout this im not probably not going to have any rockwork within 6" of the front or side glass, so im really only looking at lighting a 3x3 footprint. also im picturing a very minimal amount of lr also. i think the best idea would be to completely plan what corals i want, approximately where corals and liverock will be within the tank, then plan lighing based on the corals individual needs. i think alot of the difficulty of a mixed reef is due to different lighting and flow requirements of different corals, which in a smaller tank makes it hard to accomodate them. with a tank this size i think i can get around this issue with a little planning. maybe break the tank into 3 or 4 different zones with each zone having different lighing and waterflow.

what does everyone think?

[ReeferRob]

I think that is a great idea that would work really well with my idea of the AI fixtures mixed with the Evil spot lights. Which can be angled and place where ever needed.