1800g 2.7 meet deep tank - lighting help required

[Jagg]

I’m planning to build an 1800g display tank up and over my lounge doors comprised of 2 columns 1000x800x2700 (H) and a bridge over the door - same footprint but only 600 deep.

My house is all wired up for low voltage LED dimmers using clipsal cbus which I can fully automate and programme/and auto control to switch from an external sensor which senses day and night.

I am thinking of hooking my reef lighting to it using a series of different led strips or LED bulbs with inbuilt drivers. Each light channel can take a max combination of either 1 or 2 amps.

Anyone sufficiently versed in led tech to offer some advice on the way to go for my reef bearing in mind I will have two deep columns 2.7 meters and a shallow section 600mm deep.

Thanks heaps.

 

[jda]

You are going to have to figure out what you want to keep in there. Then, attack the lights. The only lighting that you really see lighting something like that down to the bottom are 1000w Halides, high wattage LED Multi-Chip cannons (these will be the same wattage as the Halides), or natural sunlight via solar tubes or greenhouse glass ceilings... or some combo of them.

You will likely have to just keep corals near the top if you do not want to spend a few dollars a day lighting the tank.

 

[Jagg]

You are going to have to figure out what you want to keep in there. Then, attack the lights. The only lighting that you really see lighting something like that down to the bottom are 1000w Halides, high wattage LED Multi-Chip cannons (these will be the same wattage as the Halides), or natural sunlight via solar tubes or greenhouse glass ceilings... or some combo of them.

You will likely have to just keep corals near the top if you do not want to spend a few dollars a day lighting the tank.

Hi! Thanks for responding. I’m not too worried about running cost. The residual heat from the tank/lights will be primary source of space heating via MVHR - my house only needs 10kw of heat.

The residual sump heat will heat my domestic hot water via an air source heat pump cylinder.

At some stage I will add off grid solar.

Can you direct me to some specific LED cannons? Someone else on the forum mentioned the risk of burn on the shallow part of the tank.

The other possibility is to LED strip light the exterior corners of the tank and around the base if there is something suitable ? as those areas will be boxed in with drywall and also hide all my plumbing.

 

[jda]

You won't get much help with those here. Search for some public aquariums and see what they use. The might be out of hobbyist reach with heat, power and longevity (they don't last long IIRC). Nearly everybody that I know with tanks 4+ feet deep used 1000w Halides and Solar Tubes.

You might get responses with people recommending some Black Boxes or Radions or something like that with tight lenses, but they do not really know how to solve this problem. If you were to use lenses so tight that could punch down almost 3 meters, you would fry everything up higher. I would pay attention to the folks who light tanks like this with success, which is mostly public aquariums and zoos.

 

[Jagg]

1000 w is about 8 amps. That’s 4 x 2 amp channels on a 4 channel cbus dimmer or an 8 channel dimmer with 1 amp channels. I could always pick up an extra couple of those if needs be. Could I maybe do it that way?

 

[Rybren]

Perhaps @Lasse or @Sallstrom have some ideas

 

[Jagg]

Perhaps @Lasse or @Sallstrom have some ideas

Thanks

 

[jda]

You are probably going to need like 8 or 10 of them. I don't know for sure, but do your homework. Again, look for some larger public displays. It might be even pretty hard to find a public aquarium that is more than 2m deep without using sunlight.

If you find an example of something that uses one tech, plan on the same wattage from another.

AAT could probably give you a quote.

 

[Silent]

Ive seen that design before, it looks cool. I believe they were dimly lit due to maintenance reasons.

 

[Jagg]

Ive seen that design before, it looks cool. I believe they were dimly lit due to maintenance reasons.

Anything you can direct me too? Thanks

 

[Sailfin11]

Maybe try these from Ecoxotic.

 

[Jagg]

Maybe try these from Ecoxotic.

Thanks! Defo look into those.

 

[Silent]

You could just google aquarium doorway and follow different links to see if you can find the build threads or information about them.

 

[oreo54]

I’m planning to build an 1800g display tank up and over my lounge doors comprised of 2 columns 1000x800x2700 (H) and a bridge over the door - same footprint but only 600 deep.

My house is all wired up for low voltage LED dimmers using clipsal cbus which I can fully automate and programme/and auto control to switch from an external sensor which senses day and night.

I am thinking of hooking my reef lighting to it using a series of different led strips or LED bulbs with inbuilt drivers. Each light channel can take a max combination of either 1 or 2 amps.

Anyone sufficiently versed in led tech to offer some advice on the way to go for my reef bearing in mind I will have two deep columns 2.7 meters and a shallow section 600mm deep.

Thanks heaps.

Orphek has some experience here..

Cairns Aquarium Queensland Australia Lighted by Orphek •Orphek

New Amazing photos from Cairns Aquarium and Orphek LED lighting Back in January we posted an article about our project for Cairns Aquarium in Australia. Cairns Aquarium is the only aquarium in the world that focuses solely on the habitats, ecosystems and species of Tropical North Queensland.

orphek.com

And:

Amazonas 320 Aquarium LED Lighting • Orphek

Orphek Amazonas 320 LED Light Fixtures are developed specifically for public aquariums and other venues displaying reef or freshwater aquariums.

orphek.com

 

[Jagg]

Orphek has some experience here..

Cairns Aquarium Queensland Australia Lighted by Orphek •Orphek

New Amazing photos from Cairns Aquarium and Orphek LED lighting Back in January we posted an article about our project for Cairns Aquarium in Australia. Cairns Aquarium is the only aquarium in the world that focuses solely on the habitats, ecosystems and species of Tropical North Queensland.

orphek.com

And:

Amazonas 320 Aquarium LED Lighting • Orphek

Orphek Amazonas 320 LED Light Fixtures are developed specifically for public aquariums and other venues displaying reef or freshwater aquariums.

orphek.com

Thanks will take a look

 

[Sallstrom]

Thanks

I sent a PM. I can write in short my opinion here.

I think you could get enough PAR at the bottom for SPS if using LEDs like Orphek Amazon 500W with 15 degree lenses. Perhaps more than one to get the synergy effect. You could try lower Wattage(200-300W) and more fixtures too, with low angle lenses.

It’s possible to calculate the PAR values if you know your stuff. I don’t, so we use a company doing it for us at work
Then you could calculate how several light fixtures adds up and what the PAR levels will be at certain depths with different numbers of certain light fixtures.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Another link to Orphek.

The Best LED Lights For Public Aquarium •Orphek

Orphek LED lighting Tynemouth Aquarium,Orphek has been chosen to illuminate many of the Public Aquariums ...

orphek.com

 

[Jagg]

Another link to Orphek.

The Best LED Lights For Public Aquarium •Orphek

Orphek LED lighting Tynemouth Aquarium,Orphek has been chosen to illuminate many of the Public Aquariums ...

orphek.com

Yes thanks, most grateful I’m in discussion with James

 

[biecacka]

Yeah. I was gonna recommend the Orphek as well. James is a good guy.
corey

 

[Jagg]

Yeah. I was gonna recommend the Orphek as well. James is a good guy.
corey

Thanks