Lighting Options/Questions (longish)

[spoggy]

Hello All!!,

My name is Steve and I'm renewing my love with saltwater and starting a reef tank. I was very active in FO tanks in the early 80's and haven't done anything with SW since. Everything I know, I learned while working at one of the largest aquarium stores in Ohio; at the same time I was keeping SW fish. (Couldn't pass up the employee discounts )

Since then, I've been able to keep up with and understand most of the theories on filtration, but I'm still a little fuzzy on lighting. I would like to pass on what I intend to do, and would ask for input from anyone.

The tank setup is as follows: Oceanic 200 gal., 84"x24"x25". A 3"-4" sand bed and around 200# of live rock. It has 2 corner overflow boxes draining into a traditional wet/dry filter. From there into a 150gal "holding tank" with live rock to act as a biological filter/refugium/buffer. Pumped back into tank with various return points. It will have a protien skimmer and an smaller OTB refugium. Also part of this will be auto top off and a calcium reactor. It will possibly have a few Tunze PH's for more "directed" current.

I think I have a handle on the mechanical systems above, my real problem comes with lighting, what do I use? I'm leaning towards the following: A DIY "hood" with 4 250w MH, 4 96w compact FL or T5 and 6-8 moonlight LED's. The MH's will be double-ended and 10k to 15k in range.

I need some suggestions on the above setup. Does it look OK to you? Any ideas or add-ons that I've missed? I would like to have some feedback on who's lighting equipment to use to build this. Real life experience would be greatly appreciated here.

Thanks a lot and I appreciate any and all feedback.

Steve

 

[d4a2n0k]

[welcome]

4 x 250w MH's would definitely work but you might be able to get by with less depending on what corals you want to keep. Also, what type (glass or black plastic) bracing and where are they placed on the top of the tank? The tanks with the black plastic cross braces will create shadows if you place MH lights above them.

Power Compacts and T-5's do not make the best actinic bulbs. IMO, VHO's are still the best in regards to actinic lighting. The URI Super Actinics make the corals fluoresce like no other bulb. T-5's are great to light a tank with but nobody makes a decent T-5 actinic bulb as of yet. Same goes for PC's.