Lighting questions

[hugh]

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

[coral reefer]

Welcome to 3reef first of all!
Glad to see another person switching over from frest to salt water tanks!
I guess the first thing to make you aware of is that the temperature given off by haildes is very intense, so the chance of your power compact strip melting is very real!
Next, you could get away with 175watt halides if your water clarity is optimal, however for most of us, that doesn't hold true or we struggle to say the least for this end result! Their are many things that will contribute to the less than desireable amount of light reaching our prescious corals below!
IMO, I would go with a 250watt halide to compliment your 175 halide and drop the power compact! No one wants a fire in their house!
You have a couple options IMO regarding your lighting question!
1) again delete the power compacts and get another halide unit. Then go with a 10000k and say a 20000k bulb for the two of them. This way you can turn the 20000k on initially and at the end of the day(to represent the dusk and dawn hours), then turn the 10000k on an hour later or so and turn them off an hour before you turn the 20000k at the end of the day. This also helps to acclimate your livestock from the light to darkness and vice versa!
2) Get a light fixture that comes with the actinics and daylight bulb all in one!

[hugh]

thank-you for the answer and inforamtion coral reefer.
i think i am going to go with getting a light fixture that comes with the actinics and daylight bulb all in one!.
Also are MH grow lights the same kind of light used for this hobby. is it possible to use them for our tanks?
thanks

[coral reefer]

You could go that route or you could go with a bluer colored bulb say around the 14000k-20000k range to offer you that color rendition!
I love the metal halides especially the DE HQI halides with their point source crisp color and their glimmer lines that penetrate down into your tank at the benefit of corals demanding proper light for their zooxanthellae!