Lighting Dead Spots?

[saltwaterboy321]

If I had a Metal Halide fixture on my 36" long tank with 1 250 watt mh bulb and 2 96 watt actinics would there be 'dead spots' on the sides without light?

[TNTCanada]

First I would say yes... you will definitely see the ends of your tank being a lot darker then the center.... maybe not completely dead spots depending on how long your Actinic lighting is....as well it will depend on the type of light you will be using and deflectors... if you use the old style single end bulbs you tend to get a wider spread ... the double ended lights tend to be a little more focused light in my opinion... just some thoughts.. although I have seen systems as you describe with their SPS right under the MH and as they moved out to the side LPS then softies and leather ... so it can work just not the look most people are looking for...

[Brighteyes_13]

my first tank was exactly that kind of setup (with mogul based MH), i noticed no "visible" dark spots, but the light intensity was less on the outer edges. it worked well for the setup i needed and the corals i chose to keep

[saltwaterboy321]

I was looking at an hqi double ended bulb.