47 Column Mixed Reef

Let me know what you're interested in. I still want to swing by and check your tank out, I'll give you a call in bit.

 

Flow is provided by an MP20 and a Koralia 1. The sump isn't pictured because it doesn't exist /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif. Filtration is courtesy of a single canister filter that I run GFO and carbon in and a Warner Marine HX2 skimmer.

 

I see you just got the same tank. I will say that if I had to do it again, I'm not sure the MP20 would be my choice of flow. Part of the issue is where I have it but with such small dimensions the water movement really slows down after hitting the first pane of glass. It works fine, I just am not really capturing the full effect of what the MP20 can do. I have seen columns with 2 MP20's placed on either side of a center rock structure which probably works out quite a bit better than mine.

 

I'm a fan of the HX2, it works pretty well for me and I've got no complaints from a growth perspective. The MP10's would probably do pretty well. Depending on what you're keeping two MP20's might work out pretty well too. And yeah, the fixture is 24". There's actually very little light spill considering it's oversized because the T5's are spaced in a little bit and don't light completely from end to end. If you go with the rock wall like you were talking about in the other thread I hope you throw some caps and tabling acro's on the back wall! If I had done mine with a foam wall I would definitely have done that with a small island in the middle of the tank for LPS/ fast growing stags.

 

I get a decent amount of evap but a lot of it is stopped with the glass top I had cut for it at Lowes ($15 or so..). The halide heats the water as you might expect but given the depth of the tank.. no issues at all with overheating. I keep a Blue Spotted Jawfish so I try to keep things a little cooler to accommodate him, 78 ish and have no issues with it rising above my set mark so I wouldn't worry too much about excess heat on the tank. I saw you were looking at LED's; admittedly my experience is somewhat limited but my immediate reaction is that with the limited surface area and depth of the tank, a column isn't the best application for them. It's possible I'm wrong but I wouldn't light the tank with anything less with a 250w halide if you want to keep much of anything in the bottom half.

 

Gered do you make LED fixtures? If so, something I need to keep in mind for my eventual upgrade /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

Snapped a few pics last night and figured I'd share a few.
FTS with the slightly altered lighting I've been running for the past month. I swapped the KZ Fiji Purple for another Blue+; really satisfied with the look when the halide is on.. Hate it when it's not.

And from the side

 

Dunno how much more color I could handle out of them

 

If by softies you mean LPS, that could still be cool. If by softies you mean true soft coral.. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/pinch.gif