20 high AIO build with scrubber

[fauxjargon]

http://www.radio-media.com/fish/NanoBuiltIn.jpg

I want to set up a 20 h (24x12x16) with an algae scrubber. No skimmer and due to location will not have a sump or really even much room for external equipment. I was thinking of doing something like what Santa Monica has drawn there. I don't want to go LED but I am concerned with limiting the physical size of the external light box. Also, I want to run reverse photoperiod but sleep in the same room as the tank - so I want to design for the "high power" lighting option with shorter photoperiods.

My planned lighting schedule is as follows: 5 am - ATS goes on. 12pm, actinics turn on. 1pm, daylights go on. 2pm, ATS goes off. 10pm, daylights go off, 11pm, actinics go off. Is this reasonable?

Does anyone have any ideas for a compact CFL based lightbox? Any other ideas for an ATS for an all-in-one setup? The tank is going to have two true perculas, 1 orchid dottyback, 1 well-trained (I already have this fish) green mandarin so I expect I will need around a cube a day for those fish.

[SantaMonica]

One option I've thought about is to use on the scrubber light, to light the display. You can do this by making the overflow cutout big enough to let light through, and by raising the light to the top so that a lot of it shines into the display.

1 cube = 12 sq in (2-sided) = 24 sq in (1-sided) = 4x6

24 watts for 18 hours = 48 watts for 9 hours

So do a 6 wide by 4 high screen, with a 44 watt cfl with sideways reflector.

[fauxjargon]

I had another idea, inspired by the way a CCFL backlit LCD screen works (loosely). Some kind of small light diffuser might be necessary to stop algae burning right next to the bulb, and I realize efficiency of a system where light is reflected twice would be lower, but I hope it would be somewhere between a single-sided screen and a proper doubly-lit screen.

The fish are still small, so if the capacity is too low I can always reconfigure.

[SantaMonica]

Yes that'll work if the reflectors are good.

[fauxjargon]

Yes that'll work if the reflectors are good.

Can you recommend a material for the inner reflectors? Obviously they must be reef safe. The outer reflectors will be polished aluminium. I guess I could get really fancy and make laminated reflectors with acrylic on the outside and polished aluminium inside?

[SantaMonica]

I only have the ones at Santa-Monica.cc but some people use mylar or beer cans or foil.

[fauxjargon]

I only have the ones at Santa-Monica.cc but some people use mylar or beer cans or foil.

Is Mylar reef safe? The reflectors inside the glass would be exposed to tank water (not submersed just spray)

[SantaMonica]

Well it's just metal particles, which should be eaten by the algae if they get into the water. I took one of the flexible reflector sheets and put it into my sump for a few weeks with no problems.