Lighting, Flow

[wareagle35031]

my first question is dumb i know, but i just got a metal halide lighting system with pc actinics, now heres the dumb part, i know to run the metal halide like 4 hours a day, and the blues the rest of the time, but do i run the blues when the metal is running? Now the second question, will 2 power heads rated at 400 gph be enough flow through my 65 gal system?

[Tangster]

Run the actinics for 16 hrs aday and then M/H for 6 should do the job. and the actinics run along with the M/H at the same time.. As for the power heads ? Try them and see maybe 4 would be more in order ? I had 4 in my last smaller tank a 47 Gal... I ran a 1700 RIO and 3 Maxi 1200 on a wave maker

[mr_X]

hi. it's up to you.
you don't have to run them the same time.
what color temperature are the halide lamps? if they are 10k, then you might want to run the actinics full time to put some blue in the tank. if they are 12-14k or more, you most likely don't need the actinics on when the halides are on.
i would run your actinics about 12 hours a day, and your halides about 8. or you can use the actinics simply for a morning and evening transition.

that's what i do. i have three 14k halides, that i run 8 hours a day.
my actinics come on in the morning, and then go off about a half hour after the halides go on..and then come back on about a half hour before the halides go off.