Lighting for 51” deep aquarium

[Saltyfreshness]

I have a 600 gallon custom acrylic aquarium that is 98” long 29” wide and 51” deep. It is currently freshwater but I would love to make it a reef tank. I know lighting has to be powerful to reach these depths. I’m not trying to spend a fortune and am hoping some type of black box would work.

 

[Reefer40b]

Honestly I don't think a black box is going to penetrate that far maybe get around 35in with one and with proper placement of corals up higher it would be ok. You could always look into MH lighting could easily vent the heat out and probably would be the cheapest route, could mix in a few black boxes to get the led blue look...

 

[daybreaksky]

there are going to be a few factors that will determine what you need such is height of the aquascape and demand of the corals. with this depth you may need to sacrifice the spread of individual light and use more fixtures closer together.
What do you hope to be able to grow in it?
what is your budget?
you may end up needing 4+ 24" fixtures or 8+ smaller ones placed perpendicular. at a minimum you are lookng at about
$1500 for the most basic of lighting setups.

 

[User1]

You can go DIY route. Hit up blue acro. They have the acro star pro's and also the new multi channel lights. The reason why I'm suggesting though, besides using them, is that the lens he uses will punch down through that depth easy. I have a 30" tall tank and it is a no brainer. Your other choice is kessil a360x with the 90 degree lens. It will work but you are talking more money.

You can mix a combo of the blue acro chips though for spread not using a lens and a few with the lens to focus. Easy peasy.

 

[jda]

Lots of black boxes with focused lenses might work, but you will have to avoid coral near the top where the focus and power will be too much. To get down lower, the top will be too powerful. Black Box is not going to penetrate any worse than a $800 LED, although they have other differences.

Most people light deep and large tanks with Metal Halide. You can get reflectors that punch down quite well. The heat is usually a blessing in large tanks too, unless you live in the Mojave or Miami.

That is not going to be an easy tank to light. Some fish and maybe some lower light softies and LPS might be the best bet.