Lighting help

hi 3 reef im in the process of planning my 6 foot reef 2 feet deep or maybe 2.5 i really have no idea what to light it with i want to avoid halides if possible any suggestions

 

what kinda coral do you want to keep?

do you want a fixture or a retro kit?

 

plan it out... what are you going to stock it with? Do you want to keep sps or just softies? how tall is the tank? Most 6ft tanks are either 24" or more commonly 29" tall, at 24" a good T% fixture with good bulbs will be sufficient but at 29" then you really should plan on MH.
If you get pendents you can adjust the lights higher over the tank to help minimize the heat impact.

 

so im looking at 29" deep / tall so i guess im going to have to go with mh i was hoping to keep sps but im afraid its a little out of my league so imight just stick with softies what about led lighting is that an option

 

i have a 4 foot mh fixture with 2 t5 either side but that wont be any good will it

 

A top of the line T5HO fixture works to 30" as long as you do not try to place high light needing animals on or near the bottom. I have seen a tank that was 30" deep that was SPS dominant using the original TEK fixture. It was awesome looking with great color.