175 Gallon Set-up Advice Needed!

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

Hi Everyone!

As some of you know, I have had my Oceanic 175 bowfront system for around 3 years now. The original stand and plastic canopy is nt suitable for all types of lighting and is thus, being replaced by a custom wood canopy and stand. Now, I can finally have a lighting system that will permit me to grow/house any species I want within a thriving REEF environment.

My original system had four 72" VHOs for a total wattage of 640watts. The lighting never overheated my tank, as the temp was a constant 80 degrees year around w/o a heater. Maybe b/c of my location, as I live in the South and my system was installed underneath a vent.

I really want your adivce to help me create the ultimate lighting system for my baby. Please note: My aquarium is not operating at the moment b/c I had to take it down in February due to renovations. So I will be starting fresh again.

I know I would like to integrate Metal Halides in my system. I'm just not sure which type, wattage, and brand. My canopy will be at least 12" tall, if this helps.
I also want (2) 72" 160 watt Blue Actinic VHOs consisting of a total wattage of 320 watts.
Additionally, I also want to have some type of moon-light to observe my inhabitants at night.

Now, my System Dimensions are as follows:

The Oceanic Glass 175 Gallon Bowfront Tanks= 28.5" tall, 72" long

The new Canopy will be at least= 12" tall

As always, Thanks Guys. I would appreciate any help you can give me to enable me to select the best lighting system for my baby.

[Jeremy Blaze]

What corals do you want to keep?

How many braces are on the top of the tank?

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

There are 2 braces at the top, standard I believe for a 6 foot long tank. I want to be able to grow all types of corals and clams too. A full reef tank is what I plan to create. Thanks!

[Jeremy Blaze]

Yes 2 braces is standard for most 6ft tanks.

The comment " I want to grow all types of corals" is a bad one. Having enough light to support clams and acroporas is usually too much light for many lps corals. Mixing is not the best thing to do for other reasons as well.

Now, with that said, if I were setting it up as a 'mixed reef', I would run, 3 250 watt Metal halides, 10K XM brand. 2 6ft Actinic VHO's and 3 moonlights.

If I were going mostly sps, I would use 3 400 watt mh instead. The depth of the tank would make me more likely to go with the 400 if I planed sps and clams. If it was going to be more softy and lps, 250 would be fine.

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

Okay Jeremy,

Thanks for the clarification. I guess I wanted to say that I did not want to limit myself in regards to lighting in case I wanted to change from a mix-reef. I do want to house clams and lps too. Now, most combo kits I researched today do not come with 250 or 400 MHs. They are standard w/ either the 150 or 175 MH. I like the combos b/c they come with the VHOs and lunar/moonlight that I need. I'm not too savvy w/ all the electrical wiring myself, so this is another reason why I am leaning towards a combo system. Now, with the 72" systems, they come w/ 3 MHs. Does this mean I can change the MH bulbs to 250 or 400 watt bulbs?

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

I meant to say in the above thread that:

I do want to house clams and sps too.

[Jeremy Blaze]

You can not just change the bulbs, the ballasts must be for a 400 watt bulb to run it.

Now, as far as retro fitting, they are much easyier than you think. A metal halide only has 3 wires from the socket to the ballast to hook up, and they are color coded. If you can crimp a wire together , you can install a retro fit set up. Since you have a canopy, thats the way I would go.