I'd also agree with 3x250watt MH OR 3x175 would probably be ok to. I ran 175 watts when I had my big tank running. It was 22" high, and if I was picky about where I put things I could keep anything I wanted, high light stuff in the top half with low light stuff closer to the bottom.

Give some thought to building your own "fixture" it's quite easy and can save you a lot of money as well as give you some interesting ways to customise.

Whatever route you go pay extra attention to reflectors as those are critical to whatever light source you choose.

Ok, I having been researching more I am starting to look at T5HO fixtures. I am looking at the Aquactinic Constellation 72", 14x39w.

Maybe I should stop researching so maintain my sanity.....

SOOO many options!

What to do!

Uh oh, now you opened the can of worms. The good ole T5 vs MH debate which has been beaten to death. I'm a die hard MH fan having had tanks run solely on MH and solely on T5s. Imo, you can't beat MH especially when growing SPS corals. You will find plenty of people using T5s on SPS tanks, but let's just say I know quite a few people that have changed right back to the good ole MH. There's a reason for that. ;)

My vote goes for 3x250w halides with 2x48w T5s for supplementals. I have a 4' long, 24" deep tank lit by 2x250w DE halides, and it is very bright...many of my SPS will not tolerate being close to the halides. I keep Milles on the sand, and birdnests and deep water Acros off to the sides away from the direct light. I have a few LPS in there, and they are all shaded by the rocks or they will bleach from too much light.

I use electronic ballasts. You will get more output with tar ballasts, but you will also get substantially more heat as well they will draw more than 250w anyway. HQI ballasts will draw even more, sometimes up to 330w off a "250w" ballast! Personally, I have no need to draw more energy, my bill is high enough, and my lights are definitely bright enough.

I went from a pure T5 back to a mixed T5/MH setup. I don't think I was losing any available light for my pieces as I went to a lower wattage halide and I didn't feel the urge to keep Mille's on the sand-bed! My reason for switching was I just plain missed that beautiful shimmer you get from MH bulbs!

Hehe, it's not that I want the Mille's on the sandbed, it's that they can't handle being any higher. It's annoying actually...

My biggest issue is obviously I am new at this and I am willing to spend the money on a good fixture but I don't want to buy one that I'll want to get rid of it or it's a piece of crap! :biggrin:

I am doing endless research but sometimes I feel like I am going around in circles :sad:

also take into consideration how much 14 39w bulbs would cost to replace every 8 months

Love the look of MH (shimmer:biggrin:) too much to give it up on my main reef. Also, like Burrows stated, I would have a hard time shelling out for new bulbs all the time. I usually get a very good useful lifespan from my 14000k Aquaconnects (almost 2 years on my last set). Still got good growth & the colour never changed although it was not as bright (based on PAR meter, it was time to change but my corals were still doing fine).

Anthony

I also see all the talk abut needing a chiller if using MH. Is this not so?

IMO you dont need a chiller in our climate. I have never ran one and know of very few people who have