help needed with a "tank build and lights!!!!!

[Gareth]

Ok so the title is a bit misleading lol. I have a tank diameters are as follows 200cm(L)x60cm(W)x60cm(H).

what I want to do is this, I want to buy plywood and box this tank right around completely with an cabinet effect. why I want to do this is because I need to insulate the tank because it is costing me a fortune in power because the heater never switched off at all during the winter.

so what I need to know is this, what thickness will I need to insulate the tank?
how much space must I leave in the lid to support lights?
witch lights should I use, I have a few T5 tubes (white and blue) @1.2m and 54Watt. but I can get other types of lights if it would work the same?

If I had to use T5's how many would you put in this tank for good plant growth?
how many white and how many blue?


I was thinking of putting in 8 white and 4 blue, is this over kill or would it be fine?

please guys I need your help here and if you have any other ideas please share them with me.

Thanks in advance.

[Kuhli Loach]

Gareth, what is in the tank at the moment? So you box the entire tank, will you be able to remove the sides so that you can see what is happening in the tank. Why not make a wooden frame, and then use sheets of polystyrene that fit into the frame to provide the insulation. Not as heavy as wood, and much cheaper.

[Gareth]

Hi Kuhli Loach
I am not sure what you mean but I only want a front view because it sits between 2 walls any way so I can t really see into the sides so I just want to cover it.
What I was planing is to screw the front pannel onto the side panels and have a cardboard for the back and put polystyrene against the back between the glass and the cardboard.

[Fub4r]

Hey Gareth,

I am busy setting up the exact same tank, I have a steel tubing stand that just got sent for galvanising. I am going to build a wooden cabinet around it and then paint the back of the tank with black latex paint and silicone polystyrene to cover the back, not worried about the sides as it doesnt get that cold in durbs. But if you wanted the side pieces of ply could extend up the sides of your tank and you can easily slide a piece of polystyrene on each side.

With lighting I am just going to run the two 54W sylvannia I have from my 1.5m with reflectors, that will be enough until I actually have planted the tank and know exactly what type of lighing I will need.

I dont think the blue lights would have any benefit in a freshwater tank, they are mainly for coral in marines (could be wrong) so would not waste time with that. 8 Lamps would give you over 400W, that may be a little overkill and will end up costing you an arm and a leg to run.....

I have 2 x 200W Jager heaters in the sump, they are really effecient and I have been very happy with there heating capabilities.

But that is just what I have planned so far, maybe the other forum gurus have better ideas.

[Gareth]

Thanks Fub4r
the only reason I want the blue lights in is the make the water look crystal clear and not have that yellowie colour to it.

[Kuhli Loach]

Gareth, sorry did not quite understand when you said “box this tank right around completely”. I would still build a frame so that you can slide the polystyrene sheets into the frame and cover all four sides of the tank. The one on the front pane will only be used during the winter.

[Fub4r]

Just be sure, the sylvannia that I have never gave off a yellow tint, the water was absolutely crystal clear and the lights where snow white.

[Gareth]

the yellowish colour comes from the drift wood it taints out for a long time and that gives the yellow colour in the water wich I don't want anymore.

[Fub4r]

okay but, that is the tannins that leeches from the wood, Dont think blue light will help hide that. Run some Purigen in tank and do large water changes. That worked great for me and it will save you 200W of electricity :)

[Gareth]

I have tried that in my other tank with this piece of wood it is been leeching for the last year and a half now and it just does not get any better. I have seen an aquarium that had blue lights in and it cleared the colour but once he put the blue lights off you could see the water was a yellow colour. that is all why I want them. do you think that if I put in 2 blue and 4 white that this will be enough light for good plant growth?

[Gareth]

what is the rule of thumb for lights? is it 1watt for every 3lts or 1watt for every 1.5lts?

[Fub4r]

You should speak to the plant gurus but from what I understand with todays lighting that rule no longer applies and it also depends if you are using reflectors or not and the quality of the reflectors.

On my 1.2m I had 6 T8's no reflectors, on my 1.5m I have 2 T5's with reflectors and I see better growth on my 1.5m

[azurekoi]

Lighting....eish... I stick to1W(of T5 light to 4 liters of water these days{o.k - a bit more than this}... distribute it between 1 x Giesemann Midday - 10 000k and 1 x Giesemann Aquaflora 6500k btw) - gives a good human viewable spectrum,and the plants go absolutely "bos" under this....)....No pimped substrate and Flourish Comprehensive 2 x per week;Excel every day....Aint that dofficult - my growth speaks for itself....

Done the presurised route in the past,but enjoying the simplicity of my current regime...

[shihr]

blue light does nothing for plant growth. Even if tge blue lights make the tank look 'white', tye white light wont penetrate the water properly for tge plants.. I suggest preparing the wood properly. Proper way of getting rid of tannins is to presoak it in warm water and keep changing the water.. Boiling it helps too. My wood was too big so i soaked mine in the pond for a few months in the sun. Also, u can throw it in the pool as well.

[ACE007]

Just having white or blue lights will not help your plants in your tank. Fresh water plants you need to provide a full spectrum range of light to simulate daylight.

This is the Kelvin (K) rating on the tube you going to use. It needs to be between 5500k and 7500k. The higher the K the less yellow the water will look. Well that is if there is no tannins in the water from the drift wood.

Example: If your tube is printed with 54w965, then you have a 54watt tube with a high (9) output and it's Kelvin is 6500k which is a light you would want over your tank.

This is the info what I've picked up over the past year looking into planted aquariums.