lighting?

[waymack97]

i am building a 180 reef and i finally have the money to buy lights, but i am second guessing myself. does anyone have a suggestion for me. is there a all in one hood that will work or should i go with ice cap pendants and some t-5s? 250 watt or 400 watt? 180 gallon 24x24x72. input is greatly needed. i want to be able to have any coral i want.
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Honda Odyssey

 

[cindre2000]

Are you handy with retrofitting? You could easily install some nice/cheap units if you had a hood to hide them.

Give us some limitations and this might be easier.


3*250w DE Metal Halide w/ nice reflectors + t5 HO actinic supplementation

 

[waymack97]

how cheep and where? no limitation.
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Grief or Loss Forum

 

[cindre2000]

I guess the first step is aesthetics:

do you want to see your lights (pendant/strip style) or are you going to have a canopy/in-wall? This determines quite a bit. All in one strips can be quite expensive and you can be limited in what combinations and wattage you can get.

Hidden lighting (such as in a canopy/in-wall) allows for most customizable options.

A good place to look is http://www.hellolights.com; good prices. However, a good metal halide reflector requires other stores (http://www.sunlightsupply.com, for example).

 

[LA-Lawman]

I have a 180g i have my tank lit with 3 250w de's and 2 6' vho actinincs....

hellolights has some great deals on the ARO ballast and reflectors....

 

[waymack97]

i am building the tank into the wall. so is retro fitting cheaper than an all in one system. which brand is recomened? magnetic or electronic ballast, double end or single end.
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Honda CT110

 

[LA-Lawman]

I have a PFO fixture. all in one... fan cooled remote ballasts. you can build your own lighting system fairly easy. hellolights.com has some good deals on fixtures and ballasts.

I have used hamilton, PFO, and aquamedic. my favorite so far is the PFO. quality build, quality customer service, and quality ballasts.

 

[LA-Lawman]

click on my www link. there is a short page to my build. and has some photos of my fixture....

 

[waymack97]

thanks LA-Lawman. i talked with adam at hellolights and he set me up with a retro kit. 3, 250 watt hqi and 2, 4 foot dual t-5 retro kit set. all for under 6 bones.
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Honda Airwave

 

[bleedingthought]

click on my www link. there is a short page to my build. and has some photos of my fixture....

Ben, you're way overdue for some updated pics of your tank!