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hugh · 02-23-2007, 11:16 AM

First of all I would like to say Hello to all, I am new to this forum and have been raising freshwater for about 12 years and let me tell you, it is nothing like saltwater keeping. I have been drawn and fairly new to this beautiful hobby, I have been reading, and viewing reef tanks at the LPS and also trying to learn as much as I can in the past 6 months. I do not want to rush into things and just learn as much as I can and acquire all the proper equipment that I need before I embark into this wonderful journey of saltwater keeping.
With that being said, in the next few months I plan on setting up a 65 gallon reef(soft and hard corals) and fish tank(36”L x 24”W x 18”H). It seems like the more I read about lighting the more confuse I get because there is so much information and different ways and types to use. Right now I have the following lighting:

36 inch 2x96 watt current USA power compact orbit fixture
Dimensions: 36.75”l x 8.25”W x 4.5”H
1 x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k
1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm
No. lunar light = 3
Fan = yes
No. of switches = 2
Total watts = 192
Total amps =1.56

1 metal halide light fixture and ballast.
Coralife 175W Metal Halide Light Bulb 10K
Dimensions: 15x12x8 inches
(just curious, are MH for this hobby different from the MH that are use for growers like in this site)
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3ARTQ%3 ACA%3A1&viewitem=&item=140088916169&rd=1

I want to make use of both and was thinking to put the power compacts in the back and put the MH in the middle at the front of the tank. I would have my 1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm come on at 10:00am then 1 x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k on at 11:00am and then have the MH come on at 12:00pm.

The MH would go off at 11:00pm then the 1x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k off at 11:30pm and then the 1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm would go off at 12:00am and at the same time the lunar lights would come on until the next lighting cycles starts over again.
I don’t know if this seems right or too crazy but would this work and do I need to use both lighting or just get a second MH(175Watts) instead of 1 and forget about the PC? I have heard that people use both types of lighting to get the nice blue colour. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Hugh

02-23-2007, 11:16 AM	#1 (permalink)
hugh Plankton Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 5 Karma: 1	Lighting questions First of all I would like to say Hello to all, I am new to this forum and have been raising freshwater for about 12 years and let me tell you, it is nothing like saltwater keeping. I have been drawn and fairly new to this beautiful hobby, I have been reading, and viewing reef tanks at the LPS and also trying to learn as much as I can in the past 6 months. I do not want to rush into things and just learn as much as I can and acquire all the proper equipment that I need before I embark into this wonderful journey of saltwater keeping. With that being said, in the next few months I plan on setting up a 65 gallon reef(soft and hard corals) and fish tank(36”L x 24”W x 18”H). It seems like the more I read about lighting the more confuse I get because there is so much information and different ways and types to use. Right now I have the following lighting: 36 inch 2x96 watt current USA power compact orbit fixture Dimensions: 36.75”l x 8.25”W x 4.5”H 1 x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k 1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm No. lunar light = 3 Fan = yes No. of switches = 2 Total watts = 192 Total amps =1.56 1 metal halide light fixture and ballast. Coralife 175W Metal Halide Light Bulb 10K Dimensions: 15x12x8 inches (just curious, are MH for this hobby different from the MH that are use for growers like in this site) http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&sspagename=ADME%3AL%3ARTQ%3 ACA%3A1&viewitem=&item=140088916169&rd=1 I want to make use of both and was thinking to put the power compacts in the back and put the MH in the middle at the front of the tank. I would have my 1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm come on at 10:00am then 1 x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k on at 11:00am and then have the MH come on at 12:00pm. The MH would go off at 11:00pm then the 1x 96 watt Daylight 6,700k/10,000k off at 11:30pm and then the 1 x 96 watt Actinic 420nm/460nm would go off at 12:00am and at the same time the lunar lights would come on until the next lighting cycles starts over again. I don’t know if this seems right or too crazy but would this work and do I need to use both lighting or just get a second MH(175Watts) instead of 1 and forget about the PC? I have heard that people use both types of lighting to get the nice blue colour. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Hugh