How High are your Watts?

[game24_7]

Hello everyone,
I am currently running an 110g-reef tank. 40 gallon sump/refugium. Euro-reef skimmer. 1/4 hp chiller. Roughly 180 lbs of live rock and 50 lbs of live sand. I keep very few fish (Clown, cardinal, watchmen goby, blue green chromis) and a few soft, sps, and lps coral. I run Current-USA Power Compact lighting 2 x 65 watt 460nm Actinic, and 2 x 65 watt Dual Daylight 6,700k/10,000k. I got a killer deal for PFO 400 Watt Dual Metal Halide Ballast complete with mounting kit and socket. However, only one bulb. My goal is to continue to maintain my tank and add a few stony corals and 2-3 more fish. The problem is that I think my canopy is to short. Where can I find a canopy for my tank (60" x 18")? How high should the MH be from the water? Is 400 watt MH too much for an 110g tank? Should I include the PC lights with the MH or remove them from the tank all together? And my last question is what bulb should I purchase for the MH? Thank you for you time and help.

 

[Smokin Firebird]

MH should be at least 12 inches away from the tank, i would say closer to 16 inches cause the closer the MH is to the tank the higher heat transfer to the tank. plus if there is any water that could splash onto the bulb it could burst cause those light burn really hot, thats why a glass cover should be use on the bulb. 400 watts on a 110gal tank is about right for some sps but i would add one of the pc lights to be on the safe side.

 

[ACBlinky]

You could combine them and use the PCs for actinics, but if you're using 14K or 20K MH it's probably not necessary (there's enough blue already).

I have 2x400W 20K MH on my 90g and love it. My tank is 90% softies, with 2 LPS, and everything seems to thrive in the bright light. The fixture is on legs, about 10" above the water surface.

Incidentally, when I had 5x96W PC over the tank I had heat issues, but with the MH I have no issues whatsoever -- a 6" fan over the sump is all I need to keep the tank's temperature nice and even.

 

[game24_7]

Im really not worried about the heat the chiller works great.