90 lighting

[Perez14]

So I'm in the planning stages of a 90 mixed. It will have mostly SPS with an LPS or two, a clam and a couple softies. I was curious as to what lighting those of you have for your 90's as I don't want to put to much light on teh tank and possibly have temp issues. I'm thinking of 2-250W 14,000K MH and 2 96W PC at either 420 or 460. It would all be put in a custom made wood canopy with 4 fans to aid in cooling.

[BLKTANG]

That combo sounds good.

[Perez14]

Thanks. Maybe one of these days I will finalize the rest of the tank plans and post those. Until then, indecision 2009 continues.

[bryman]

You may also want to consider T5. Something like a Aquactinics Constellation, Solar Flare, for an ATI Sunpower or Power Module. Would save you money on electricity, lower heat, and more even light distribution. Plus you can fine tune the color to your liking.

[sohal1025]

How much room is under the canopy. Those MH's put out some heat. I ended changing my canopy to a taller one so the lights were not too close to the water and had more room for air flow with the cooling fan.

[minnesotareefer]

+1 on T5's

[danceswithfish]

My tank has 2 250 watt metal halides and 2 110 watt VHO fluorescents. I used to have trouble keeping my tank down around 80 degrees on warmer days. I had two fans in the canopy and 2 blowing over the sump.
One thing to keep in mind is that pumps in the sump/tank will add some heat to the to the system. If I had to plan my tank out all over again I would reaserch and consider using a return pump and skimmer pump that are plumbed in outside the sump.
I moved and my tank is the basement of a house with central air. I hoping the heat issues are a thing of the past.

[Perez14]

The canopy has not been built yet as everything is in the planning stages. I have considered T-5's, and still am somewhat, but I have the PC retro kit already, so that's somewhere I can save a little cash.

As far as color goes, I'm not a big fan of the super blue tanks. Just a personal preference. I prefer the more natural "white" light with some blue light to accent some of the flourescent colors that may/will be present in the tank.

pumps for the sump, and PS have not been decided as of yet. The only thing I know I will have is the 90 with modified overflow, most likely a 30 gallon sump divided into 3 sections, drain/PS, return, and refugium, in that order, and it will be a metal stand skinned in oak.

I'm still unsure of:
any further filtration
what type of PS to use
what type of pump and which brand to use
some sort of dosing system
whether to do a closed loop or use power heads
The foam rock walls and rock work intrigue me, as does DIY rock.

I will be using the sand and rock from my 65 that has been broken down for about a year. I will probably add another 25-50 lbs of LR and some LS to seed the tank. This will be a budget build of sorts. I won't be spending top dollar, and I will save where I can, but I won't hesitate to be patient and wait to get a better product if I feel it is going to be worth it.

[Perez14]

Dancingwithfishes,
Any new pics of your build? I went through your build thread and was curious how it was looking.

[danceswithfish]

I just happened to have the tank all cleaned up so I took some picks!

I havn't added any coral yet, but I got the blue tang I always wanted!

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh7/blake374/P1010407.jpg

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh7/blake374/P1010390.jpg

Here is a shot of my new fish room

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh7/blake374/P1010419.jpg