New Tank = New Lighting MH questions!

[RyanG]

Lion I love reefs lighting but that stuff that Bob just got is at a higher level than Reefs IMO.

[reeffreak]

Jk,you definitely have a large enough system go with either T5 or MH.It's going to be a personal choice.You can match MH for growth and color by going with an overdriven ballast like the Icecap 660.You can keep anything with the Constellation too,SPS(mainly acros) will need be placed in the top half.

[jkeating2005]

alright after a day of research, and debating with myself i think i have made my decision:

2 175watt 10000k ushio Bulbs in individual reflectors powered by 175w ice cap ballasts.

2 72" 160watt VHO URI Super actinics (one white and one blue) Powered by a icecap 430!

i am pretty sure that is what i am going with

[dustin_P74]

your bulbs are going to burn a yellow color so if your going for a white look i would suggest both actinics be blue

[jkeating2005]

ok thats better. i want a more bluer look

[RyanG]

The super actinics will give you a purpleish color look at something in the 460nm range. IMO go with T5 actinics with the icecap 430 longer bulb life and better selection of colors. I personally dont like my VHO actinics all that well. I bought colalife blue LED's to supplement them and will likely eliminate them in the future.

[ccCapt]

2 175watt 10000k ushio Bulbs in individual reflectors powered by 175w ice cap ballasts.

That is a good combo, but it's really in the 8K color range....so they will look somewhat yellowish. Here's the performance data on those Ushio bulbs. PPFD is a type of PAR reading and CCT is the actual kelvin color temp.
If you didn't already buy the bulbs, look into the Iwasaki 15K's. Here's the performance data on them. They look very white compared to the yellowish Ushio. I use them with 2 VHO URI SuperActinics (both blue).

[jkeating2005]

thanks for the info i didnt buy bulbs yet! definitly some useful information