Lighting Setup for 55G

[templar]

I'm thinking of installing 6 X 55W power compacts in a 55 canopy. 2 of the bulbs will be true actinic. 2 will be 6700K and the last 2 will be 10K. How does this setup sound. It equals to 6 watts per gallon. Would it make a large difference if I skipped the 2 6700 bulbs and only used 220W of lighting (4W per gallon)?

 

[h2o]

What's the length of your 55g canopy? 36" or 48"? i think 2 6700k and 2 10k and only 2 actinic will not have enough blue and viewing pleasure. do you have enough clearance on the canopy to fit couple diy metal halides? i personally have a 55g tall with 36" canopy but due to only 3" clearance i could only install 3 96w pc retro. although satisfied but i really would love to have a mh. just a friendly suggestion.

 

[templar]

The canopy isn't raised high enough to support metal halides. I would think a third of the light being actinic would be plenty of blue light.

 

[nm reef]

If you are going to use 6x55 pc's Id suggest you check into at least 2x55 true actinics. I've never used them but I have heard that the blue spectrum is much better than that of the combos. The others I would use 4x55 10k's. I use 4x65 10k's with 2x110 vho's(actinic). May be that your 6x55's will work just adjust the spectrum to your liking.