[pogodzib]

There's a sticky thread at the top of the equipment forum area that talk about the minimum lighting requirements. This is what I like to go by: NOTE: Tank DEPTH, not WTG.

Originally Posted by mcintosh

I think the best way to go about the lighting issue is to break it up a bit.
High light - light loving animals throughout the tank, from the top of the tank to the bottom, clams on the bottom of the tank.
Medium light - Light loving animals at the top of the tank, lower light required species at the bottom.
Low light - Really, a softy tank. Maybe a few montis or LPS up top, and very low light animals at the bottom of the tank.

High light--
18 inch deep tank or less 150 HQI/175 MH plus supplemental lights per 2 square feet.
24 inch deep tank or less 250 W MH plus supp. lights per 2 square feet.
more than 24 inches 400W or greater per 2 square feet.

If using T-5's, as many T-5's lights as will fit across the tank (Probably need 8 T-5's spanning the full tank)

Medium Light --
18 - VHO/PC @ minimum of 6W per gallon or 70w MH/poor PAR 150/175, no supp.
24 - 150/175W MH or approx. 4 T-5's spanning the tank
>24 - 250W MH or approx 6 T-5's spanning tank

Low light --
18 - normal output Fluorescents over tank (ie 4 40W fluo. over 55 gallon tank)
24 - VHO/PC's no more than 3 or 4 watts per gallon (4 65W PC's over 90 gallon tank)
>24 - same as 24 inch tank above.

HTH. And feel free to flame me on any of the above statements. I know that there are exceptions, and I am more than happy to hear about them.

I have a 220 gal tank, which is also 30" tall. Cleaning it can be a pain, but overall, I like the height. For lighting, there is no way I'd consider PCs. I have 250w MH as well over my tank. The 250w MH bulbs are sufficient for softies and LPS down at the bottom of the tank. Some SPS corals and clams may do alright near the bottom as well. The 150w MH bulbs would have probably worked for most softies, but you'll like the 250w MH much better in the long run. BTW - The reason why I'm not mentioning the PC bulbs at all is because they will do very little on a tank that tall and all that their purpose will be will be for actinic supplementation and your visual pleasure.