[raycopp]

i spoke to hamilton lighting and they suggested i use 3 250w 14k pedents for my reef that is 84x18x30.he said the 14k is a more pleasing look than the 10k. my question is. is he correct? and also i am very confused on what to do with the cooling fans. i have an enclosed hood that goes to the ceiling.how do i install the fans? should they be inside the hood or through the walls. what size fans. do they blow in or out. as you can see i am a novice at this, but i want to do it right the first time around
thank you in advance

[raycopp]

one other question. will i have a heating problem and need a chiller. if so will 3 150's work or is this just too little. tank is 200 gal

[AquariumSpecialty]

You may want to take a look at this (see link below). It could help you decide on which ballast, lamp and fixture to use. I met with Sanjay Joshi a few weeks ago. I can tell you more about his findings if you contact me. This is pretty complex for somone just getting into the hobby.

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/#

[Reefland]

Hi raycopp,

It is hard to say what is more pleasing because this is a personal preference. If you like a more "white" look them most combinations would lean you towards a 10k bulb. If you like a very blue look most would go for a 20k. It is hard to say what is more pleasing...

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by raycopp

i spoke to hamilton lighting and they suggested i use 3 250w 14k pedents for my reef that is 84x18x30.he said the 14k is a more pleasing look than the 10k. my question is. is he correct?

He is neither correct nor incorrect. He is simply stating an opinion based on personal taste, either his or his perception of what he thinks others prefer. The key phrase here is "more pleasing look." A "more pleasing look" is an important consideration to most of us but it has absolutely nothing to do with what's best for our tank's inhabitants.

You may find that most 250w 14,000K lamps do not produce anywhere near the PAR of the better 10,000K lamps of the same wattage. You will have to research the various possibilites before you can make an informed decision. Whatever decision you reach, assuming you understand all of the parameters involved, will be the correct decision for you.

and also i am very confused on what to do with the cooling fans. i have an enclosed hood that goes to the ceiling.how do i install the fans? should they be inside the hood or through the walls. what size fans.

I'm not sure I understand exactly what setup looks like but you want fans that draw cool air into the "hood" and exhaust hot air out of it. A tank of your dimensions could probably use four 4" 120cfm fans. Whether half of them are blowing in and half blowing out depends on your particular situation. They could all be blowing in the same direction, too, as long as cool air is coming in and hot air is going out.