lighting

[BCReefer]

Yohan,

I also have the same size tank as you.

I have a 175W MH with 2 30 W actinics. The lighting came in a kit and I built a custom hood to hold it all. I originally started with 1 NO light but I also wanted to move to corals.

Think long term. You might say “VHO” will be sufficient for me since I only XYZ corals, but trust me, once the bug hits you, you will/may start wanting other high light corals. If I had to redo the lighting I would have went with the 250W system.

I spent about 1 day to make the hood. I was able to go down to the local lumber supplier and get most of the wood cut to my dimensions. I then went to rental place and rented any other piece of equipment that I needed. All in all it cost me about $100.00 to complete my hood with rental. I also purchased some veneer to give it a good finish.

There are some really good write ups in DIY forum about hoods etc. my new motto for this hobby is if I feel I want something bigger or better and I don’t have the money now, I will wait until I do. I will no longer buy anything thinking that it is just good for now.

Cheers,
Patrick