Lighting on 105 Gallon. Help

[REEFER]

I'm going to order a Oceanic 105 gallon, tank stand & hood. I don't want to loose the oak canopy due to lighting & only want to do this once. What is the best lighting to get?

I have basic corals, but in the future would like to get into clams & all the good stuff!

My LFS guy is trying to steer me into getting power compacts. But like I said I want to get the right lighting the first time.

I'm pretty new @ all this so please try to keep it simple english for me.

I realize these light are expensive & I am prepared.

Can I do a good system without a chiller & still be great?

Any help would be great?

I really would like something i cam mount to my canopy.

[Chryocon]

As for the chiller, it depends on how warm it gets during the summer, but usually you can easily manage a reef without a chiller......as for lighting. stay away from compact flourescent, you will never be able to keep clams or LPS or SPS with it in a 105. A practical solution would 2-3 Metal Halide Bulbs with 2-4 VHO Bulbs. Compact Flourescent would not penetrate deep enough to keep even some softies alive and whoever told you that you could keep clams and SPS under compact flourescent was wrong

[REEFER]

What about this system?
would this be enough to have clams cown the road?


Aluminum Fixture 48" 2 x 250 W MH & 2 x 110W VHO Fluorescents


Features:
Remote ventilated, enclosed ballast with 10' lamp cord.
Lamp cord with quick-disconnect from ballast to fixture.
Ball bearing cooling fan for Metal Halide Systems: T1 - super quiet.
UV stabilized adsorbing lens.
Independent on/off controls for Metal Halide and fluorescent lights.
Stainless steel hardware
2 - 250 Watt Bulb Included
2 - VHO 110 Watt Actinic Bulb Included
ALUMINUM CANOPY:
(Most Popular) - quality mill painted, glossy black finish outside, electro-white finish inside, will not peel or rust (like competitors canopies that are painted after forming).

You Pay :


with 6500K Metal Halide Bulb $ 819.99
with 10000K Metal Halide Bulb $ 899.99

[Samurai]

Sounds like a nice system. I would venture to say that you could keep clams and other creatures requiring intense lighting under that lighting setup. One thing to remember with MH's though is that they do get very hot and depending on the ventilation they are recieving you might need a chiller. Also make sure that they have a splash guard on them because I have heard that even one drop of water on a MH (if it's on) could burn it out. I wish I had $900 to spend on lighting :roll:. Haha.