110g set up questions.

[angelofish]

Someone i know just bought a 110g. tall tank with a modern series stand & canopy.What are her lighting options and would be a good, reasonably priced retrofit kit for this canopy? She also doesnt want that "shadow effect" from the center brace. Will they be ok over open water or should she place something in between the lights and water?
She's going with a wet dry w/built in skimmer and a mag pump. Could she add a refugium to this set-up?Could she make modifications to the wet dry to become a refugium?If so how?
Any extra info will be appreciated. Post pics if ya got 'em. Thanx in advance.:help:

 

[sly]

Me personally, I would add a refugium rather than converting the wet/dry filter. You can either make one your self from another aquarium or plastic tub or you could buy one. There are also hang on back refugiums. It all depends on what's avaliable, how much DIY you want to do and how much money you want to spend.
Most of your questions are like this. There is no definite answer to give. I bought power compact retrofits off ---- for 35 dollars each and bought a fixture from Lowes to mount them in. I saved a little by doing it myself but if I were paying for labor, I would have been better off buying a premade fixture. You need a cover for your lights. Whatever you do make sure you have some sort of barrier between your bulbs and your water. If the fixture has a plastic clear shield then you won't need a cover on the tank (unless your fish jump out).
For corals you need 3 or more watts of light per gallon. It really depends on what you want in the tank. Fish only don't need much light and you could get by with normal output flourescent lighting.

 

[angelofish]

She and I both have had reef tanks set up for years.She just wants to set up the new tank better. She will be tearing down her two smaller ones to fill the 110.