Just wanted to get a recommendation, and it seems that this is the place to get some good advice.
Grim, at present I am in the process of planning an upgrade. The new tank will be a marineland DD tank, the 200 gallon to be exact. the measurements are 48"L x 36"W x 27"H.
My previous tank had two MH 250w icecap 20k bulbs in lumenarc reflectors with two Vho on an icecap 660 for sunrise/sunset.
I wanted to plan a more efficient lighting system, That did not run as hot and uses less energy. for this I have been looking at replacing the aforementioned lighting with a T5 retro or fixture. For the retro I was thinking a 12 bulb system, 4 bulbs each on two separate Icecap 430 ballasts and 4 bulbs on an icecap 660. The first 4 would go on for 2 hours (sunrise), then the next 4 bulbs would come on in addition to the first four for another 2 hours ( together ). then four hours after the first bulb came on the last 4 bulbs would come on, 660 driven bulbs to simulated noon hours, for 4 hours. after the 4 hours the cycle would reverse until all bulbs would turn off after a 12 hour light cycle.
I am leaning more towards a retro since a 12 bulb fixture that does what I want to accomplish is not available at the time.
For this tank I would like to have a mix of lps , sps and softies also two clams that I have. Do you think this setup would be viable and if so what lamp combo would I need if the lamps where as follows:
each number represents a ballast- ballast 1, ballast 2 and ballast 3:
bulb setup would be :
1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3
