MHs for my 90 gallon?

[djbarnes88]

I'm still trying to decide on the lighting for my 90 gallon tank. My wife would like to keep the possibility of clams open so I am now looking at MHs. I really do not want the expense of a chiller right now. The top of my canopy sits 9.5" to 10" from the top of the water on my tank I have a canopy that is completely closed except at the back. If I get some fans drawing the heat out of the canopy will I be able to run 2x 175 watt MHs or 2x 250 watt MHs. Also, will this be enough light for a Maxima?

[Electrobes]

I would definately go with the two 250 watts set up. But are you also planning on getting actinics at all????

[djbarnes88]

Right now I was hoping to get by with a single bulb NO flourescent for my Actinic supplement.

[biotoxin]

um..NO bulbs arent 03 which you need to penetrate the water and get to the corals. Id look into getting a real actinic bulb or at the very least use a 20k bulb which is bluer than the normal 10k's.

[reefrunner69]

NO=normal output and there are many .03 NO bulbs.

If I were you...I would look into the 20K bulbs you might not need actinics at all. On a 24" tank I would either go with 250W HQI DE or 400W mogul. Have you considered losing the canopy and doing a pendant fixture? There are also manufacturers that have legs that hold the fixtures off the tank and leave room for air movement.

[djbarnes88]

I'm kind of fond of the canopy. That was one of the reasons we bought this tank. The previous owner had MHs in it.
As far as the Actinic goes would I run a 10000k and a 20000k or 2 20s. Is actinic neccesary for corals? Would I be able to get started without them and maybe add a VHO or PC fixture at a later date and still have a decent variety livestock available to start off with. Is there a limit to the number of questions that I can ask in the middle a post before people start to get angry with me?

[mrrrkva]

Canopy is fine. I would go with 2X250 MH and 2X110 VHO actinics. You could get by with 2X175W. Cooling is an issue so go with an open back hood and maybe some extra fans on the hood and maybe the sump. You could start with just the 2X250 MH. If you run 20k's you wont need actinics but I would use 250's not the 175's