80g Cylinder Tank
 

I'm a newbie and just starting a 80g acrylic cylinder tank. Does anyone have experience with cylinder tanks and if so is there anything in particular that i should know about them that is different from any other shape of tank. So far i have sand, live rock and hermits!

don't let the kids throw tonka trucks at it and bust up your very expensive tank? must be nice; you gotta put some pics up when it's ready :)

no kids
 

No worries about tonka trucks...no little buggas around to do that kinda thing. It's still the ultimate bachelor pad...lol

what are the dimentions of the tank?

Steve

It's 32" high by 28" across

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You are very lucky to have that type of tank, I've always loved them but can't afford one.....yet.

I used to have a 54 gallon corner tank which is also a pretty ood shape. my biggest issues with it were getting the flow right and lighting. I think you should should have an easier time with lighting for a cylinder shaped tank than my old pie shaped tank. Any 24" light should fit over it. I would put a MH/T5 combo over that tank if it were mine.

As far as flow goes, good luck! Right off the bat I'm thinking a closed loop through the bottom would work well. Do you know if the tank bottom is tempered? Do you have an overflow.

Yes...it's a center overflow with sump and filter in a cabinet underneath.

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what are you using for flow right now?

The obvious answer is to get the flow going clockwise for a while...then have it reverse and go counter-clockwise for a while...then...

That's what I did with my hex tank and it worked well. I used a SQWD, but you would probably want more control over the timing of the flow reversal than a SQWD offers.

Untamed - thanks for your response. Can you tell me what the reasoning is behind having the current switch back and forth and why it's neccessary.

Also, how big was your hex tank?

Thanks

I would lovwe to see some pictures of the tank :)

Attachment 2162 not the best pic but gives you an idea

Let me be the first to say... that is freaking sweet!!

Nice tank

What kind of lighting are you using?

How do you clean the glass? I'm thinking a magnet wouldn't work, would it?

I'm gonna sound like a knob but i don't really know what kind of lights they are....they came with it. There's 2 lights with 4 bulbs per light. 2 of the bulbs are blue and 2 white on each light. 24" long.

Yes i have a magnet cleaner...just a 1" x 3", i'm still exploring other options but that seems to work well so far...

Sounds like just PC lighting. Depending on your stocking plans, an upgrade may be in order.

Could be T5 as well. If you take a photo of the bulbs, we can tell you :-)

Also, the idea behind untamed's flow suggestion is to mimic the natural alternating ebb and flow of the ocean. Both the fish and corals seem to prefer a random, alternating current.

the lights are sunpaq retrofits
http://www.current-usa.com/sunpaqretro.html

What are the opinions about these lights?

Well, it depends on what your stocking plans are, Those lights IMHO won't let you keep anything more than softies and some LPS. I would upgrade myself if it was in the budget.

edit -

I've learned the lesson that even if you think you don't want SPS, clams or harder to keep LPS... at some point you will ;)

They're great lights but with the depth of your tank you may be limited with what you can keep coral-wise. You can certainly keep softies and most LPS with that type of lighting. Probably not SPS (unless you kept them up really high and even then you might not get any good color out of them) and I don't think you could keep any clams in there as most need metal halide lighting. Theres certainly a wide range of other corals you could happily keep in there though, neat tank! :biggrin:

It was a 30gallon. The flow question has already been answered.