Lighting

[andygar]

I have a 240 gal tank 96" X 24" X 24" that I would like to switch to a reef tank in the next couple of months when I will be purchasing a 135 gal to set up as an aggressive tank.
I have been doing a lot of research on the lighting issue, and still aren't sure what is the best way to go for a reef setup. I currently have 4X40W Daylight Deluxe 6500K Fluorescents and the 2X25W 50/50 that my tank came with.
I am planning on building a canopy to house 12X40W NO Daylight tubes and 4X110W VHO Actinics, which would give me 480W of Daylight & 440W Actinics with no lighting leaking above the fixtures. Is that enough?
I read about Metal Hallides, but the heat is a major factor in the California Desert as my house temperatures get up to mid 80's in the summertime.
Does anyone have experience with lighting a large tank - depth 24"?

 

[finland]

If you are planning on housing 12 NO bulbs and 4 VHO's in your canopy, I think you may have a heat issue to deal with. 16 bulbs will put out a lot of heat. Since you will have to deal with the heat anyway, I would forget about the NO lights,keep the actinic VHO's and use 250 watt MH's. With a 6ft tank, you should have 3 mhs. Put a couple cooling fans in the hood, remove the glass tops, and invest in a room A/C. The MH's will have a lot better light penetration with a 24in deep tank.