Picking Out Lighting Tomorrow. Advise

I've done my research but still a little irk about the lighting situtation. We are going to pick it out tomorrow and I have two hoods both with one socket for a 24" bulb. I want mine to be a reef tank at some point and will be putting in live rock once my tank is cycled and the rock has cured. Any suggestions?

 

Depending on what dimensions your tank is, I would honestly go with a 24" T5 fixture, maybe 4-bulb or 6-bulb. Good brands are ATI, TEK standard, TEK Elite, AquaticLife.

You won't be able to support much with just two 24" bulbs, maybe lower light corals, leathers, softies, etc. If you are serious about a reef tank, lighting is the foundation of it. You will soon be wanting more corals if you get the bug and want a higher intensity light.

Let us know the dimensions of yoru tank and your budget. Pairing a nice fixture with nice bulbs will also bring you much more success. Sticking with bulbs like ATI's or Geissmans.

Here are some links to some nice fixtures:

ATI SunPower:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...nPower_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI

TEK:
Sunlight Supply Tek Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures

AquaticLife
AquaticLife T5 HO 4-Lamp Light Fixtures w/ Lunar LEDs

 

I'm going to be much more into coral as soon as we move as I don't want to cause damage to them. For now, the tank will be fairly simple.

 

Its 4 1/4' x 1 3/4'

 

MoJoe is right on.

When reefing you got to think what you want down the line, which usually comes much sooner than you think.

Always go bigger with lighting, tank size and skimmers and you will not regret it.

 

This baby is just to get me started out on =D Once we move and get establish then I will get a bigger tank. For now I just want to see what I can do with this one.

 

I'm confused by your dimensions, what is it in inches?

 

Maybe this will make more sense:

It has two 24 in hoods.

 

I think I calc. something wrong with this lol

 

So the hoods are stacked parallel at a 24" length or are they stacked one after another for a 48" length? What size tank is it?