in floor tank

faust

Member
we are in the process of building our dream home. my wife as come up with the crazy idea of sinking a 4' wide x 8' long 2' deep tank in the floor. while this is do -able. cannot figure a way to light the tank other than from the sides which i dont think would let enough light for the corals.. any thoughts
 

SubRosa

Well-Known Member
Suspend a 1000W metal halide from the ceiling above the floor. Or possibly some sort of skylights/solar tubes.
 

sambrinar

Well-Known Member
It might depend on where in the house you put it, ie, center of room, by a window. skylight might be good, but the light might get too dispursed.

If you had a greenhouse type of room with it in there, that might get enough natural sunlight, or a whole wall of glass? Just a thought
 

faust

Member
It might depend on where in the house you put it, ie, center of room, by a window. skylight might be good, but the light might get too dispursed.

If you had a greenhouse type of room with it in there, that might get enough natural sunlight, or a whole wall of glass? Just a thought

the 2 walls will be structural glass block on opposite sides of the room 10' high, fire place on the end of the room but the ceiling height is 16'. vaulted
4, 24" x 48" sky lights are going in too
 

erawling

Member
Well if your asking for opinions its too much of a hassle.I mean think of all the other things you would have to do too make this work,water changes,a sump setup and do you really want open water in the middle of you living room??
I don't want rain on your parade but for a tank that size lighting is going to be the least of your concerns.Thats just my two cents :eek:
 

Midnight

Member
I have seen table top tanks that light from the sides that work good. Will the house have a basement that would make taking care of the tank easy??
 

Midnight

Member
You could do like the tank here in Orlando at Sea world where they have sharks and stuff in it so it doesn't need strong lights. I know its not a reef but you still get the cool effect of walking over water with fish underneath you.
 

chrome91

Member
someone told me once that you cannot light from the sides of the tank. fish try to balance themselves by making light hit both of their eyes equally, and i guess lighting from the sides screws up the equilibrium
 

michael_cb_125

Well-Known Member
Have you looked into the Japanese MH Spot Lights. They could be mounted directly on the ceiling and aimed down to the tank.

Check out Glassbox-Design for more info on these lights.
I have checked with Eric Michael about getting these lights, and he said that they would be available "sometime".
~Michael
 

l3fty999

Member
Suspend a 1000W metal halide from the ceiling above the floor. Or possibly some sort of skylights/solar tubes.

I think solar tubes, if properly done, could work. And if money isn't a real big deal, you might as well do it for other parts of your home, so you can save a little on the power bill and have a little more money to run your tank. And by the way, are you thinking of the fiber optic lighting? When you say solar tubes, that's what I'm thinking of. And some say the idea of a tank in your floor may be hard to maintain, but with a lot of thought, I think it could work. But you know, that's the cool thing about this hobby, it stimulates brain cells that may never get used for anything useful.:smirk:
 

funkpolice

Active Member
I can see maybe a FOLR, but a full blown reef would be a legistics nightmare. You wouldn't be able to really explore the tank and see all the cool stuff. I would do a cylandrical tank in the middle of the room, viewable from 360 degrees.
bill
 

l3fty999

Member
I can see maybe a FOLR, but a full blown reef would be a legistics nightmare. You wouldn't be able to really explore the tank and see all the cool stuff. I would do a cylandrical tank in the middle of the room, viewable from 360 degrees.
bill

THERE we go! Do that and then use the fiber optic lighting.
 

Amnestia

Member
Have the tank itself several inches below the actual floor and have MH's that are built into the floor itself, with the actual mh enclosure jutting above the floor and angled down into the tank. Kind of like this...
mh floor mh
\--\_________/--/
_______________
top of tank

Have the mh's pointed at an angle into the middle, since it's a long tank have 4x 400w mh's with 2 on the periphery angled inwards and 2 in the middle pointing straight down. Build a casing for the mh's so you cant step on it and break it and you'll only lose a small bit of floor space to the light enclosure.
 

leahski

Member
why not do just a cool cube tank/coffee table? it seems like it could be easier... plus, who is really going to be able to enjoy it that much if its sunken into the floor? the best view of a tank is from the side.

whatever you decide on, pictures pictures pictures! :)
 

dianezoo

Active Member
Unless you give her an indoor koy pond which would much easier.
However cant you imagine a shallow round pool with and couple of lion fishes, but no live corals that would require too much in the way of lights etc.
I like your wifes vision.
 

Jeremy0322

Active Member
I think the idea is awesome, but in all reality it would be super difficult to pull off properly. The lighting alone would be almost impossible, but if you can pull it off it may be one of the coolest tanks out there. I like the idea better of having the huge cylinder in a room, i have seen those before and they are stunning...but dont give up on the floor idea either, atleast not until you are 100% sure it cant be done. The only thing I worry about it trying it off and not being able to pull it off properly, then over the long run it would just fall apart i guess. That is what would worry me.
 

reefs reefs

Member
plus even if it goes into the floor how would you make the correct water movement that it is going to need with out rippling the surface water. If that happens then you will not be able to see a thing.
 
Top