Is this enough light?

[mckaax]

Just wondering if 2x175 MH and 4x65 pc will be enough light to have clams and maybe a few sps? This is 580 watts for a 90 gallon tank(6.44 WPG). Also my light will be about 9 to 10 inches off the water.

 

[michaeltx]

how deep is your tank?
Mike

 

[mckaax]

24 in

 

[michaeltx]

I would go with 250 if you havent bought the lights yet the deeper the tank the harder it is for light to get down to the bottom.
Mike

 

[mckaax]

Well I would like to get by with 175x2 due to heat the last thing I want to do is buy a chiller to keep the water cool/

 

[hurt]

I would definitely go with 250's for a tank that deep, especially if you want an SPS tank. I would not worry about heat either. Don't forget the type of ballast you get plays a big part in the heat produced by your lighting. I run 2-250w MH's on my 55g along with 2 110w VHO's and my tank stays 82 year round with a couple fans. I however use IceCap ballasts which produce little heat compared to what magnetic/HQI ballasts produce. Google: cnidarianreef MH
Then look at lamp heat due to ballast.

 

[mckaax]

That really hurts. I was planning on going with the coralvue. Not real sure what I am going to do now!!!

 

[mckaax]

Where can I find the best price on a retro kit with icecap ballast. All the ones I have found come with a crap bulb. What bulb does the Icecap drive best?