What lighting options do I have???

[xlayedoutx]

Here soon I plan on buying a 90 gal All-Glass Mega Flow Overflow Aquarium with matching canopy. My questions is what lighting options do I have with this setup and how do I mount the lights under the canopy. I plan on having a mixture of fish and coral leaning more towards the fish side of things. Do I need to use the metal halides or can I use Fluorescent lighting. I'm not even sure if theres a way to mount the fluorescent tubes underneath. I guess the best thing to do is go to my LFS where i'm buying the tank and see what they think but wanted to get your opnions as well. Maybe one of you guys have this same tank and could show me what you did with lighting.

[ReefWannabe]

first figure which corals you want to keep and base your lighting needs around them. Flourescents arent going to keep any corals very healthy. Some vho's or t5 will work good unless you want some light hungry corals. Im picking up my dual mh today, for my 55 galon, but im planning on keeping acropora and birdsnest.

[minireefer]

Definatly go with a halide setup/ w VHO or T5 Actinics to supliment the blue and give you sunrise sunset aperance how much depends on what your keeping maybe 2-3 250 MH and 2 96 watt CF

[xlayedoutx]

I've seen at my LFS how they mounted their Halides on a canopy like mine which seemed pretty easy but if I have two Halides how do I end up mounting the VHO's. Also do I turn both the Halides and VHO's on at the same time or do cycle between the two.

Also the book i'm reading says that the downfall of the Halides is the energy cost it takes to run them. Having Halides means I'm going to have to have fans to cool the water and maybe invest in a chiller as where I live we see 110 degree summers. With those extra componants the book said to expect a jump in the power bill. Do you guys have any experience with how much your bills jumped. My roommates are cool if it jumps like an extra $20 since we split it 3 ways but if it jumps $50 a month it might piss them off. Should I expect to see that sharp of an increase with the Halides?

[ReefWannabe]

I would look into t5 then. Heat isnt a factor like mh, and alot of people have had great success with them. They guy i bought my mh/vho combo off tonight switched to t5. He has a deresa clam and alot of lps.

[jhnrb]

Whoooo nelly. we cannot choose the lighting system for you. The 1st thing you need to do for long term success and to mitigate spending money needlessly, is to understand the principles of lighting and the various options. 1st you need to make a list of the animals you want to keep. Then you need to determine what equipment is needed to provide for their needs which includes lighting. once the system has been selected and the equipment purchased you put it all together. since you have high temperatures where you are, either an air conditioned room or a chiller will most likely be needed. lighting for fish only is for viewing only and any florescent system with the correct bulbs will provide that. now corals are a different matter, softies can survive with with compacts, t-5 or vho flourescents. hard corals i.e. sps, and some lps need mh. so my recommendation is to go to the helpful articles and read all the articles page one for the beginner, or newbie, and then read the lighting on various pages. once done you will have the information available to make a decision. once done reading if you still have questions come back to your thread here and post your questions. the light system you will need with depend on what you will keep, the depth of the water collum, your ability to keep the system at apprx. 78 degrees. good luck keep us posted on your progress. cost will depend on the light system you choose, mh use most energy, vho and ho next, and so on down the line. electronic ballasts use less energy and develope less heat.