Lighting on 72 bowfront reef

[iwilson1]

Hello All,

New to the forum, and I have a few questions. I was directed here by a friend at the lfs. I am newer to reef tanks and I am setting up a new system. I'm working with an Oceanic Stainless Steel reef ready 72 bowfront. I have the canopy on this tank as well.

I have most of the system figured out, but I am unsure of what direction to go with the lighting. I'm planning mostly LPS and softies, maybe some few select SPS. I want to go the HQI route, as I like the lighting effects as well. However, I'm not sure of what will work beneath the Oceanic canopy. Would something like the Coralife Pro HQI or their HQI Advance work on this tank? Is there space, and would the heat buildup be acceptable?

I'm not entirely prepared to try DIY lighting, and would prefer to go with something commercially available. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ron burgandy]

I have the exact same tank you do, but without the canopy. Because I haven't found anywhere that would ship a canopy. If you know of somone please let me know. As far as your question goes, I am using the Current USA Sunpod. It was the only one skinny enough to sit ontop of a bowfront. It has 2 150w 14k HQI MH's & 9 ea blue and white LEDS. THe 14k bulbs have a great color and the blue and white LEDS are independly controlled and are located on removable panels. The light has brackets to hang also. I gave about $525.00 for it. Hope this helps.

 

[bllfish]

72 bow

72 bow

I have a 72 bowfront and about 6 months ago I switched from 6 65W pc to 4 54W T5HO. Best decision I ever made.

You can see I have an SPS at the top and many lps which are thriving.

I have the standard Tek5 ballast with ice cap reflectors which is fine for lps and some SPS.

 

[ron burgandy]

Nice tank. Where did you get your green bubble. Then ones at my lfs look like crap and I'm too nervous about ordering one off the internet, in fear of not knowing exactley what I'm getting.

 

[bllfish]

Thanks Ron I order almost all of my corals online. I am not sure where I got the green bubble but my best experiences have been with
Sharkeysreef.com, phisheybusiness.com & extremecorals.com

These three have corals that usually look better than pictured and are easily contacted on the phone.

 

[PatMayo]

[welcome]

It may be tough to find something that fits in the canopy. You may have to do some looking.

Look in the vendors forum and also in the lighting filtration forum. there may be some more specialized help there.

This web site has lots of lights of different types.

Its a start.

http://www.webaquatics.com/

Regards,

Pat