Lighting for a 72 Bow front

Hey guys

    First I want to say thanks to all those who gave me advice on my 30 gal tall.  The top of the 30 is so small that I was having trouble finding something to fit on top and give enough light.  Thankfully I was just doing research and had not started buying stuff.  My dad heard I was having trouble finding a light for the 30 tall, so he found me a 72 gal bowfront for a great deal.   I was amazed at the deal.  
    Any way I am wondering what are my lighting options for the 72 gal.  The dimentions are 48"X18"X22"
LXWXH.  I would like to keep an anenome and probably some easy corals.  I know I'm probably going to have to go MH, but should I get one of those MH PC combo sets or should I piece together a set.  Or can I go only PC  I really have no clue.  Thanks guys

 

Well easy corals is one thing, but anemones are another. Most require a lot of light and a mature and stable tank.
But since you are leaning toward halide, it all should be doable down the road.

You can piece something together if you do your homework. Check out the MH bulb and ballast info on the 3reef links page.

A MH/PC combo would work nice and there are many available for that size tank. You could also do a combo like one 250 watt halide and a couple VHO bulbs. Or two 250 watt halides with pc or n.o. bulbs. I think Jason McKenzie has something like that on his 75 gallon. His tank is awesome.

 

Matt

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Has anyone used the Aquatic Lighting Systems retrofit MH. The price looks attractive but how well does it work. Any other suggestions on lighting would be great.

 

A Hamilton MH/PC Hood is 48 x 11 x 7. You can set them on the tank or hang them from the ceiling. If you want to Take a look at the Hamilton MH hoods on my site and see if one of those may work for you. You also get 10% thru november with coupon code 3REEF

 

I am currently looking into new bulbs for my MH set up.
So things I've come across are the growing number of bulbs I can't fire with my current Ballast.  I would try and go HQI for you ballast.  and take advantage of Darin's offer @ CaptiveReef.

Check out Advanced Aquarist


J

 

Hi all, just in the midst of setting up a 72g bowfront myself.  This is my first reef setup and trying to decide on lighting seems to be the question of the day.  At this point I don't know what I want in my tank but I know I don't want any limitations.

My question is are any of you using Coralife Aqualight Pro system??  Any advice on lighting is appreciated.  I have been scouring the net for days now trying to decide.  I am having troubles finding a place that has one in stock so they must be popular...??

Since I am in Canada (Victoria BC) shipping is more pricey...but the LFS in town are incredibly expensive.