FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi

I've been thinking about changing my current 42G tall freshwater tank to a marine setup. My LFS advised that you cannot have a marine setup with a tall tank because of the lighting issue and surface area. Apparently you can't get a lighting system that is small enough to fit over the canopy that will provide enough light to reach the bottom of the tank or strong enough for the live rock. I would really like to use my existing tank because when I was pricing out a 55G rectangular tank, it came up to well over $2500.00 US for a complete system but no sump.

I'd appreciate any advice on this. Thank you!


*Mitch*

Yes, it is possible to light a tank like that, but it wouldn't be very cost-effective. I'm not sure how tall that tank is, but I'm assuming that it's at least 18-24" deep... that'll most likely require metal halide lights if you plan on keeping any corals anywhere near the bottom of the tank. Halides are expensive and produce a lot of heat... you'll want to vent the halides, and you'll probably need a chiller to counteract the heat of the halides... all that will add up.

It'd probably be cheaper to go with a 55 gal and go with a cooler, less powerful light (T5's, LED's, PC's, CF's (look for my 20 gal tank log and check out the pics of my CF light fixture))...

Tall marine tanks are definitely do-able... I've seen a few of them done... but they're much harder to light, oxygenate, scape, and stock. Short and wide tanks work at lot better than tall and skinny tanks... especially when it comes to reefs...

Either way, good luck

Thanks for the info. Poisonwaffle. Guess my decision has been made.


*Mitch*