Lighting was the last point of major consideration. For lighting I decided that I would go with a single 250w MH and 4 T5’s for actinic and supplement. For the Metal Halide, I decided on the Lumenarc mini stealth DE III, powered by an IceCap 250, and an XM10k. Of course after my initial research, and subsequent purchase I learned some additional info. I would have probably gone with the a similar Lumenarc, but would have used SE. My next bulb will probably be the Reeflux, as that is reported to be one of the better DE bulbs.
For the T5’s I decided on the Reefgeek retro with IceCap SLR’s. I went with 2x24w and 2x39w. I did not go up to the Icecap ballast, after speaking with the guy from reefgeek, I decided the price was not worth it since their “stock” ballast is a decent quality electronic model. For light bulbs I decided on Super Actinic T5 HO Fluorescent for both the 24’s, 1 Blue Plus and 1 10k Aquasun for the 29’s.
Unfortunately, I will not be able to fit tall of my lights in the hood, I will have to go with 2x24 and 1x39. I did not take the end caps into consideration. I will decide on which 39w t5 bulb to use once the lights are on, and now think I should have gone with an IceCap 660 to run all 3 bulbs. Hindsight is 20/20….
I have not completed my light setup yet, so the only picture I have is the inside of my canopy, which is now white. I decided to do this after posing the question to the forum. Everyone that does it say that it makes it easier to clean the inside of the canopy, helps reflect stray light back into the water and may possibly help keep the heat level down.
Here is one more picture, its of my 35 week pregnant wife by the tank chillen by the tank:
As things progress I will update this thread, I plan on finishing the hood/lighting this weekend and hope to move my live stock next weekend, but this will depend on the cycle, if I see a large cycle I will wait longer, if the cycle is small because of the existing rock then it will be sooner.