Lighting for my new 75 gal????

[bjanecka]

Please help me decide!!!! Should I use pc, vho or no lights or some combination of the above? So far all I have is the tank which is a 75 acrylic tank with center overflow. I do not want to use mh because they will not fit in my canopy(it's not high enough). I would like to have a mixed reef tank with fish. Probably mainly soft and lps but I would like the ability to try sps or a clam in the future without upgrading. I am leaning towards 4 96 watt pcs. However, I am not sure if I should use the pc actinics or use no or vho actinics. I am also concerned about how fragile everyone tells me the pc bulbs are. Please any suggestions are welcome.

[orion25]

I have a 4 x 96 pc system on a 55g tank. Yes they are fragile, I broke one last night.

Can anyone reccomend where to get a new one at.

Ryan

[PerryinCA]

Hi bjanecka, and welcome to the Board!

I personally like using VHO, but a great setup would be to have 4 96w PC's on a Icecap ballast. If you could get a Icecap 3000 for use with Actinics, you'd have a fair amount of light, and could keep SPS and Clams toward thetop of the tank.

If you want to only use the 4 PCs, I would recommend using 3 8700k, and a actinic, run by and Icecap 660.

Another good setup sould be 2 Aquasun URI VHO, and 2 Actinic, or even 4 Actinic whites (50/50).

Either way you go, the Icecap ballast will be the best. It will make the lamps last longer, and will put out more light....while taking less electricity.

I'm a huge fan of MH....but if for some reason I couldn't use it, I'd go for the VHO.

If you go with the VHO, make sure to get the 46.5" lamps (europe 48). They are easier to mount in 48" tanks.

-Perry

[Ironreef]

I would use 4 _110w vho on a IC 660 ballest. I prefer mh but this would be good for lsp and softies. You can always add mh later if you want sps and clams. You can try with just vho but make sure you find low light captive prop sps and personally I would stay away from clams. With vho/pc in a 75g. they may do good for awhile but I've yet to see them thrive for yrs under this lighting. Maybe with supplement feedings =dt they may do better. JME