Deep tank (Acrylic?) and lighting it.

[gingee]

A few years ago I kept Amazon tanks with plants and Co2 etc. all was well but moving meant I couldn't have another Amazon tank so have kept small African tanks.

I now want to get back into Amazon and have always wanted to keep Discus. I have always loved Heckels but doubt they would be a good idea for a start so i am open to suggestions for something simpler (Wild Blues?)

Now the technical bit. Cost is not an issue in all areas (I'd rather get it right first time) but I haven't got an endless budget.

The tank dimensions are 80cmW*90cmH*55cmD (36*31*22 in inches). This works out at ~400 litres (105 US Gal) which is ~875 pounds.

I have 2 issues with this. Weight (water pressure) and height.

Firstly weight. My father in law is a builder so strengthening the sub floor isn't an issue. It's the pressure on a tank this size. I get the feeling that the only way I can do this is with Acrylic and these seem to cost an absolute fortune to get made to custom sizes. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced Acrylic tank constructor in the UK? If I do go with acrylic, will I have issues with Farlowella or Sturisoma scratching it when grazing?

If it STILL works out too expensive, what are my options in glass? I assume that I will need at least 15mm glass for this height. When it is constructed will it just get bonded with silicon sealant?

Secondly height. 90cm is very deep and I REALLY want my plants to look great and have guessed that I need about 250W to get down that far. The new Arcadia Series 3 metal halides seem very expensive but will provide an 80cm 250W pendant. Are there any other options I can consider. I like the idea of the Series 3 because of the lack of fan (I suppose that this will be quite noisy.

Planned occupants:
Types Qty Size (cm) Total
Discus 5 20 100
Pencil Fish 5 3 15
Corys 5 5 25
Whiptail (Farlowella acus ) 3 15 45
185cm

I want everything to be as discreet as possible so have planned for a drain plug near the top to let out 50 litres of water only for water changes. Then I shut this tap off and fill. I also fancy the idea of drilling a hole near the bottom of the tank (1--15cm) for the Eheim inlet rather than hookng over the top of the tank and back down. I am looking to have an Eheim 2128 Thermofilter. I am a little confused as to the choice between this canister filter or an Eheim wet and Dry canister filter. Will the Wet and Dry be noisier and is there any marked advantage/disadvantage to wet and dry over classic external canister filter?

Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

Ginge

[pcsb23]

Gingee,

Welcome to simply. OK not sure we'll get through all the questions but we have to start somewhere. Acrylic tanks http://www.tenecor.com/ should help there. No idea of cost, but talk to them about your requirements.

http://www.tankbuilduk.com/ and http://www.wharfaquatics.co.uk/ both make made to measure glass tanks, again speak to them they are good. They can also advise on sumps sand the like as well as drilling.

No reason not to go for glass at the sizes you've quoted.

If your going planted then with deep tanks you are netter off with metal halides, the arcadia one seems to be ok, pendant MH's would be my choicce and probably 2 x 250W isd what I'd go for, its a lot of light but you will have deep water. You would need to run CO2 and dose with ferts otherwise the green monster will have a field day.

Anyways, some food for thought, try the people in the sites and see where you get to.

Paul.

[gingee]

Cheers for that.

I had looked at Tenecor and they are very expensive. All of the Acrylic makers I have found in the UK are more geared to commercial & architectural focussed. Hence they seem to be really arrogant and massively overpriced (I have been quoted £2,800).

I found Tankbuild on the web today and they don't seem fazed by a glass tank that tall so I might end up going with them.

500 Watts of light? Wow! Hmmm. Might need to have a think about this one!

I must say that this project has been in inception for about a year now and as soon as the bonus comes next month it's been agreed tha it all gets spent on this so it's nose to the grindstone researching all of this new technology.

Thanks again for your help and any more tips would be most welcome.

Ginge

[pcsb23]

Wharf Aquatics are worth talking to as well, I've just got 6 tanks and a sump from them. top quality.

Paul.

[gingee]

I have done lots of thinking.

Because the area above the tank will be enclosed, I am a little concerned about running MH lights with all of that heat. The 90cms high seems to add cost to the tank (having to go up to 12mm rather than 10mm glass) and I have only a 75cm reach so I have now decided to drop the tank to 80cm in height. Also because of the reduced height I may not be in so much of a danger with the amount of lighting required. Using the 3 WPG rule I should need 267 Watts. A slight compromise is that I have now ordered 4*55 watt fluorescent bright light kits from AH supply. They seem to get such a good reputation on here that I kinda feel I couldn't go wrong. This is the setup I am now looking to use:
http://www.moretonvillage.com/FieldView/aquarium_enclosure_300a.png

Ginge

[pcsb23]

Ginge,

One observation would be to put the UV on he ouput side of your cannister filter. It will gum up a lot quicker on the input side. I'd also put the drain to waste on the input side unless you intend to use the pump in the eheim to assist.

Paul.