[R33flover]

I have 60 gal tank with mostly softies. I currently have Coral Life PC lighting with two 65W 10K white and the same with the actinic. My wife wants clams and I want some hard corals so we would like to switch to MH lamps with actinic lighting. I currently have a canopy and have a clearance of about 6 inches from the lights to the water line, although I could probably raise that to 7 inches. What is the minimum distance required for lets say 2 150W MH from the lights to the water line.

Any help would be appreciated as my wife and I are fairly new at this.

Thanks
Gary

[jlombardi29]

I run my 250 watt MH about 7" above the water and I don't think you would want them any closer than that

[R33flover]

I've been looking at the following fixture, does anyone have one and if you do how do you like it?

Coralife Aqualight Pro Metal Halide Aquarium Light Fixture, 2X150W HQI & 2X96W Compact Fluorescents, 48 inch

[pogodzib]

I don't have one of those fixtures and would recommend getting a fixture with a combination of MH and T5HO bulbs if it is within your price range. As for the distance above a tank, you can keep the bulbs within 1"-2" above your tank, IF your bulbs are within an enclosed fixture that doesn't allow water to splash on your bulbs and your tank doesn't overheat. Many people choose to keep their MH bulbs higher so they can eliminate the glass over that gets splashed and full of salt creep so they can get a little more light into their tank.