AGA 110 Extra high tank as a mixed reef?

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gwhunter

Guest
I've got a few tanks setup and had planned to consolidate and add a 150 in my living room. I want to get a reef ready tank. I was planning on setting up this 150 mixed reef in my living room and setup my 210 in finished basement as a fowlr with my angels and tangs. I've got a 90fo and 72 mixed reef currently setup and my 210 is fresh at the moment. I was in a fs yesterday and they had a 110x with twin overflows. I really liked the look of the tank and already have the stand an canopy from my 90 gallon. I also have a coralife pro fixture(48" twin 150 MH an 4 65w PC's with leds). So I'd be able to upgrade and just get the tank and overflow. But I'm concerned that the 110 will be too high for a reef. I know I'll need to add a bit of rock. I've for mostly mushrooms and polps now. I've also got a kenya tree and leather and zoa's. I'd like to get some hammer,frogspawn and some sort or monti. I've got a 6" green carpet anemone also. I was planning ad it to the 210 fowlr eventually.
So will the 110 be a good mixed reef? I've got a lyre tailed anthias pair,maroon clown and a hippo tang. I'd like to add a few more female anthias and a flame angel. So I'd be light on the fish.
Matt
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by GWhunter
http:///forum/post/3219065
But I'm concerned that the 110 will be too high for a reef.
You never put the height, but the answer would still likely be no.
Your just going to have to make considerations for your lighting and its depth penetration. Thats where us knowing the height of the tank comes into play.
 
moondog

moondog

Member
I would be that it is 30-31 inches. I have a 150 X high, and it is 48L x 24w x 30 deep. I was suprised at the fact that my zoa's, gsp's, and kenya's do so well at that depth with only 216 watts of T5's. The biggest problem I have is stacking the rock up to match the height of the tank, no matter how much rock I buy it still does not seem to fill the void.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
perfectly fine. Ive seen people with 150watters on that depth. Underpowered IMO, but Ive seen it done.
I have 3x250's on my 20" 125g.
I think thats just about right, but I would consider hitting the 400mark on my tank if I had to do it over again.
 
moondog

moondog

Member
I was getting at the fact that they are proving that T5's penetrate deeper than you think. I fully agree that I am under powered, this light was great on my 75 gallon though. Hopefully I can upgrade to an 8x48" T5 soon.
 
G

gwhunter

Guest
The tank is 48x18x29 so it's the same as a 150 just shorter. My light should be strong enough with 300 watts of mh plus the 4 PC's right?
Matt
 
G

gwhunter

Guest
With the PC's and MH lights it's 560w. So is there any particular corals I should stay away from with this setup?
Matt
 
G

gwhunter

Guest
I talked with the LFS last night and decided to get the tank. It was a custom order with the dual overflows and the person who ordered it backed out. So i got it for good price. I have about 100lbs of lr now but I'm thinking of buy dry rock and pin it with acrylic rods then add the live rock to the top. How much dry base rock should I get? I want a natural look not just piles. I was thinking of egg crate then the pinned base rock then sand. How much sand will I need. I usually run crushed coral or bare bottom. I'm not going to use live sand though.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by GWhunter
http:///forum/post/3219648
With the PC's and MH lights it's 560w. So is there any particular corals I should stay away from with this setup?
Matt
Nope. You can do them all. Just be sure to research each individual coral and make sure your meeting its lighting intensity needs.
If your really serious about it, Id look into a good milwakee light meter. They run about $100 and come with a submersible sensor. I would anticipate your going to be around 450-500 par about 12 inches from the surface. And about 110-150 at the bottom of the tank. You should be fine.
Originally Posted by GWhunter
http:///forum/post/3219996
I have about 100lbs of lr now but I'm thinking of buy dry rock and pin it with acrylic rods then add the live rock to the top. How mucj dry base rock should I get? I want a natural look not like I just piles. I was thinking of egg crate then the pinned bade rock then sand. How much sand will I need. I usually run crushed coral or bare bottom. I'm not going to use live sand though.
If aesthetics are your main focus, then a 40lb bag of sand should do fine. I put in 80lbs on my 125DT, but recently I pulled out about 30lbs. Gave it a much cleaner look.
Or you could jsut run it bare bottom altogether since your not interested in LS.
And why arent you doing LS? that goes against the grain nowadays. Nothing wrong with it...Im entertaining doing my next tank bare bottom, im just curious about your reasons.
AS for rock: 100lbs of LR is plenty.
Another 50lbs of base rock would probably suit your needs. I would google "Marco Rocks". Supreme base rock! About $2.10 lb, but highly recommended. As for pinning the stuff. You could even shoot s bit of foam between pieces to bond them together. Great stuff works...well...great. Get the UV pond foam though, meant for going into water and not leaching to harm fish.Or you could make your own foam wall. Hear is the one I did:




Ive since removed the overflow bar to allow more light to hit the back wall. It was casting a slight shadow.
This stuff is a super bio sponge, the porousness of the foam allows tons of beneficial bacteria to permeate the wall rapidly.
 
G

gwhunter

Guest
I'm not against the live sand but I think it's a gimic. If you start with live rock and add a bit of ls from a lfs that would be different. Are you sure 40 lbs of sand will be enough?
Matt
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
To give you an idea:
The photo above is 80lbs of LS.
That is a 72" 125g Brick.
Yours has a smaller footprint if I'm not mistaken.
I pulled out about 30lbs the other day because I didn't like that much sand in it.It was too deep and making the glass look grimy at the base. Now that I have reduced it my Sand sifters aren't over whelmed. I might get more some other time, but for now having 50lbs is way plenty.
If your concerned then get 80lbs, since your not getting LS its cheap anyways.
 
G

gwhunter

Guest
I think I'll order 2 30lbs bags I want just a few inches of sand. I'm not going to make a rock background. I'm just going to paint the back black. With the dual overflows there is only about 4-5" between them. I just need to make sure that the rocks are really secure. Since it seems my hermits are dedicated to knocking stiff over.
Matt
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
According to the sanbed calculator,
In a tank with a 48" x 18" footprint,
To get a 2" deep sandbed,
You would need to get about 70 lbs. of dry aragonite.
 
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