Lighting Question???

[a&m aggie 04']

I am about to start a 75 Gallon F0WLR. Right now i am just going to used 2 48" Florescent on it, will this work.
Another question when i change to a Reef tank i was wondering what type of lighting i should look at getting. I was thinking about 4 VHO's, but then i hear MH are much stronger. Any suggestions, will the VHO's do what i want to do. I am not interested in clams.
Thanks,
Mark

 

[byrself]

for a fowlr, the lighting plays less of an importance in your tank. the rock would benefit from extra lighting, but not necessary.
as for the reef lighting question, if you know that you will be keeping coral that don't require halides, then they aren't necessary. it's really up to you what you should go with, but the vhos will suffice. you could always add on later if you plan to. good luck, hope this helps you.

 

[frankl15207]

Two NO for a fish only will be fine. Before going to VHO, I had three of them on to help the coralline along on the live rock. It seemed just a little dim with two lights, but I got used to brighter lights with PCs on a 55, so it may have just been me.
I have four VHO on my 75. That is an average of just under 6 watts per gallon which should be more than enough for most corals. Just a caution that they do run very hot, so you will either need fans running across them for ventilation or a chiller. They raised the temperature in my tank by 4 degrees.
MH as I understand run a lot hotter. I'm not sure that you would want to put MH into a canopy. The display tanks that I've seen them in generally had the lights a foot or higher above the water level.