Planning Out The Tank Placement And Cabinet Build

[xxBarneyxx]

Well after much thought and discussion with minds much better then my own it seems I can fit an Aquamedic 120 in the space I have afterall (so I'm not limited to the 90).

The space I have is under a stair case. I know this is far from ideal but the stair case is very solid and you get very little noise or vibrate underneath when people use it. also I have nowhere else so I have to make do with what is available

This makes fitting things in difficult because of the sloping ceiling. Because of this it means I have to have the tank very low (6" off the floor). Again not ideal but I dont mind sitting on the floor to watch it and it is that or nothing

Anyway this is a scale drawing of the space i have to play with:

This is the plan I have, description below:

Basically I have a 6inch high stand going the length of the tank. On the right will be the sump and other equipment and there is then 10inchs of space to fit the lights in above the tank.

There will be a frame work built in around the tank and then there will be a removable skin covering everything (except the tank) giving an "in-wall" appearance. The skin/paneling will be attached to the frame work using clips so it can be completely remove in sections for easy access to the equipment and tank.

The lights will be built into a "shelf" which i will be able to slide out from above the tank to make it easier to get into the back of the tank if I need to. Later on I plan to add another section to the top which a shallow tank which can be used for frag's (maybe, depends how practical it will be when everything is actually set up).

Panel layout below. Each section will be completely removable. the top section (blue) and right section (black) will also have "doors" to feed the fish/quickly check sump.

Anyway other then the fact that it is under stairs and very low to the ground can anyone see any big problems here?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Oh yeah, another quick question which I actually need to reed more on anyway but for most average soft corals how many WPG of light do you need? The 120 comes with X2 150w MH lights and I have the parts here to add an extra X4 54w T5's to that.

I really dont know a lot about marine lighting yet but in total that would give me 300w from the MH and 216w from the T5 which equals out to about 3.5WPG. If someone can point me in the direction of info on common corals and their lighting requirments that would be great.

 

[Musho3210]

whats the wpg rule, ive heard of it but never seen it work, it seems like a bunch of bullcrap

(uhh incase you didnt know i do know what it is, and it is a bunch of bull crap)

You have plenty of light for softies, lps and sps. Just position them acording to their light requirement.

 

[SkiFletch]

With that much available lighting I'd be concerned with 2 things:

Power Supply - You may have to run extra electrics to get to the tank
Heat dissipation - Removing the heat from the wall with fans will be ESSENTIAL for success here.

Edit: and the 2x150's is enough for softies. If you want to go up to hard corals, either now or later, fit the T5's in there and fire them up when you do get into the hard stuff

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Thanks, as the tank is basically going to be enclosed I was planning on fitting a few 120mm fans to aid cooling. I will leave the T5's out for now and put them in when (if) I get some hard corals. The only hard corals I have planned on getting at the moment are hammer and bubble corals and from what I have read these are relatively easy to keep and dopnt need massive amounts of light.

Power supply could be an issue so I might get an electrician in to take a look at that.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, the kicker isn't the resistive load from the lights but the inductive load from them when they turn on. It's a good idea to assume that the Inductive load of the halides is 5 times their resistive load. So during operation with your 220VAC system, you're prolly lookin at 1.6amps to operate the fixture. Startup draw however is going to be more like 8amps for a split second or two if fired simultaneously, if fired seperately, obviously half that.

 

[adambrum]

Hey Ski,

Could you cast your eyes over this its a timer that might be better for those of us in the UK

timer

 

[xxBarneyxx]

It doesnt show the pictiure but if its the same as teh mechincal B&Q own brand ones I got they are rubbish. I have had 4, 2 of them just stopped turnning (get jammed on a certain time). I took the other two other and got digital ones.

 

[adambrum]

These are slightly different to most timers there rated at 4amp resistive most are 2 amp

 

[SkiFletch]

These are slightly different to most timers there rated at 4amp resistive most are 2 amp

Humm, well a single 150watt halide would draw about 4amps worth of inductive (careful mincing your terms there adam ) load. In general running electronics right on their "edge" of current carrying capacity will degrade them faster than if you go a littler more conservative. The one you linked probably won't be as "rubbish" as Barney's was, but i would be pleasantly surprised if it lasted more than 2 years, and shocked if it lasted 5... You're more likely to get 1-2 years of operation out of it before it overheats one too many times and fails.

So... Calculated risk? You make the call on that one.

As an aside... If you want the most longest lasting timer out there, and know how to wire things, here's a trick. Get a cheapo mechanical timer (who cares about load ratings) and wire that on to the control side of a properly rated magnetic coil style relay. Connect the load side to a seperate outlet and you're all set. The cheapo timer controls the relay (which draws a tiny tiny amount of current) and the relay supplies the halide with more than enough inductive load. So when the timer is "on", it sees very little current, and the relay is "on" or "closed". Then when the timer clicks "off" (again no current) the relay does all the electrical "work" and switches off the halide ballast. Magnetic coil relays can often withstand 20-50amp inductive loads and 100 amp resistive loads, hence their suitablility for this project. Obviously a few electrical skills are required, but this is probably the most robust and affordable timer I can think of.