72 inch lighting

yeah, but each one covers 24 inches of space, you'll have about 8"s of space between them. 3 is PLENTY

 

would 2 of the 24 inch controllable fixtures work? or is that not enough wattage

 

you can't think of it in terms of wattage, but you'd prob be ok unless you're gonna do alot of high light requirement corals and clams, but I'm guessing 2 of those placed high enough would be ok.

IMO, 3 of the 16" would give ya alot better coverage, its close though, you could always start with 2 of those and add a 16" later if needed

 

but i have always loved sunrise and set look on the tank. my wife is not going to like if i have to spend more money

 

I am with Cosmo, (3) 16" would be best, but (2) 24" should work as well. Plus you could always add supplemental if needed after the fact.

 

well you can always manually dim them as needed I do the whites and colors are on seperate controls

 

If you have 1 center brace, 2 27" Razors. If you have 2 center braces, 3 20" Razors.

 

It has one thick glass brace in the center.

 

so i decided to make a DIY setup with left over parts off the 300 gallon setup my father in law purchased.

I will be using 2x400W MH as that will cost me nothing
to supplement the MH i will use 2x72 inch T12 420nm VHO bulbs

all i will have to spend will be to build a box to hide everything

 

Yes, but unlike T-5s, the light will radiate out to the sides, and each fixture will cover a 24" cube with ease.