Right now I have 2 of the 48" Aqualight pros over my 10' tank. Those each have 2 @ 150 Watt 10K MH and 2 @ 96 Watt Blue lights. Between each of them I have a 250 Watt 20K MH Pendant. Even with 5 Halide lights I still have areas of the tank that just doesn't get much light at all and the 150's are just not adequate for the SPS that I want to thrive.
I am trying to figure out what to upgrade to. I like having the blue lights come on first before the Halides but I am also trying to save money on the electric bill and bulb replacements. Currently I am on a 9pm to 9am plan with APS and the blue lights come on at like 4pm and the Halides at 7pm (turning off at 2am). I am thinking that it would be better to have 6-7 of the 250 MH's at 14-15K. I would probably have them turn on at 6pm (when I get home from work).
Since I am not that handy, I am not sure that retro kits are the way to go. The canopy that I have is only 7-8 inches tall, but there are dividers so that I have 3 sections. The other sections can take something up to 34 inches and the middle section is like 38 inches. I was thinking of something from aquariumlight.com if they could make 2 custom 32" fixtures (and a standard 36"). Each fixture would have 2 250 Halides which would make them roughly evenly spaced apart. I have acrylic light holders that keep fixtures about 3 inches off the top of the tank (5 inches from the water).
Does anyone have a thought on my lighting logic and a good place to start looking? It is gonna kill me to spend almost 2K on lights, but maybe I can get something out of my old ones.
I am trying to figure out what to upgrade to. I like having the blue lights come on first before the Halides but I am also trying to save money on the electric bill and bulb replacements. Currently I am on a 9pm to 9am plan with APS and the blue lights come on at like 4pm and the Halides at 7pm (turning off at 2am). I am thinking that it would be better to have 6-7 of the 250 MH's at 14-15K. I would probably have them turn on at 6pm (when I get home from work).
Since I am not that handy, I am not sure that retro kits are the way to go. The canopy that I have is only 7-8 inches tall, but there are dividers so that I have 3 sections. The other sections can take something up to 34 inches and the middle section is like 38 inches. I was thinking of something from aquariumlight.com if they could make 2 custom 32" fixtures (and a standard 36"). Each fixture would have 2 250 Halides which would make them roughly evenly spaced apart. I have acrylic light holders that keep fixtures about 3 inches off the top of the tank (5 inches from the water).
Does anyone have a thought on my lighting logic and a good place to start looking? It is gonna kill me to spend almost 2K on lights, but maybe I can get something out of my old ones.