Is this too much light?

[gbolton]

I have just finished building a new canopy to hold a retro kit for my tank. It is a 50 gallon tank about 30 inch wide and 15 inch deep. I don't remember the depth right now, but can measure if needed when I get home. It does seem pretty deep.

I have intended to put a retro kit with a 250 watt metal halide light and two 32 watt actinic PC bulbs. Is this too much light or can you have too much light?

Also I plan to purchase the kit from marineandreef.com. Any feedback on this vendor or reccomendations on other vendors?

Thanks
Greg

[mogurnda]

Sounds great to me. That will be enough to put you into the range of all the corals and clams you might want.

I have had good experiences with Marine and Reef.

[gbolton]

Thanks for your quick reply. As for heat The lamp should be approx 10-12 inches from the surface of the water I had planned on placing a fan in the rear of the canopy if the heat was to great. Do you think that I should go ahead and add the fan now?

[mogurnda]

My bet is that you will end up needing it, especially come summertime.

[gcvt]

Yup, it sounds like a cooling fan is definitely in your future. I have a 2x250 MH setup and run two fans to keep things cool. There is a noticeable rise in temp if I don't turn the fans on. Remember to have the fan drawing fresh air into the canopy instead of pulling hot air out - you don't want to be pulling warm, moist salt air through the fan. Cheers.