is this a good idea?

[old hermit]

yes more about lights. i want a reef tank so this is what i was going to do for lighting. i was going to make a canopy 12" tall and use mh lights. i was going to put 2 400 watt mh bulbs is that too much, or maybe the 250 watts. and should i use the 12000 k bulbs or the 5500 k bulbs? along with that i was going to put 2 maybe 4 pc strips on it as well. what types of bulbs do i need for those? will 2 65 watt pc work or get 4 65 watts. any help would be great i want to get this stuff soon so i can build the hood.

 

[mr . salty]

The wattage of the MH bulbs depends on how big of a tank you are trying to light up.If your tank is a 125 or smaller,the 250's will do fine.Also,I would reccomend using more than the 55k,but less than the 12000k.The 12 will be VERY blue and not very bright/intence.The 55 will not have enough blue and look really yellow...I use the 10k bulbs and am very pleased with the bright,crisp white/blue color....You would also be better off using either regular flo,or VHO with the MH.These flo's are mainly used for daybreak and sunset simulation,and to boost the blue color in the setup.PC's really don't have a good looking blue bulb.That is why most people use NO's or VHO's...

 

[old hermit]

Can you tell me a good site to find flo or VHO bulbs? Are they retro-fit kits? How would you install them into your own canopy if they are not in the retro-fit?

 

[cruises8]

Hey hermit,
I just bought a 440watt VHO setup from Hellolights.com. They were the best price around, and so far, I love the lights. The colors are great! They sell retrofits and "plug and play" type setups. The "plug and play" come with the reflector. I paid under $250 for everything, with URI lights, shipped. Mounting them in my canopy was actually quite easy! Hope this helped!!!