Wow, thanks for the feed back!!!
I really do appreciate all the help and advice. Still completely undecided on what route to go. I have been looking at so many different tanks with so many different lights my head is spinning hahaha.
although still not ever owning mh I really don't know just how much heat they throw or how much power they use. Changing bulbs is not something I have an issue with. However the heat and excessive power consumption are things that concern me. Especially the heat, and even more so that I have never been around a mh set-up so its kind of a gamble that I still don't know or have experienced these things.
Anyone in Sask specifically in the Moose Jaw/Regina area that are reading this and running halides that I could checkout their tank?

That's really the best thing to do. No matter how I adjust a photo, I could never show what my tank really looks like in person.

Anyone have experience with either the Lumenmax 2 or the Lumenmax Elite reflector?
Just looking for opinions on either reflector.

I have a 36x24x20 tank and was thinking of using one 250W se halide over top of a centered shallow aquascape. Or possibly using 2 if it is just too shaded on the sides.

I have a similar style reflector. Well, 2 of them. Over 40x30 foot print, well spread out across the area. If I had reduced the landscaping, I might have been able to use 1. Running 400w though.

I would go with a single Lumen Bright reflector in the larger size with a 400 watt mogul. You can grow anything with that and even with a higher K bulb.

Hey Trevor, you still don't have lights?

If you really want halide (over t5) my suggestions are, if you use one bulb is to go with a 400W mogul as you get better spread with a mogul and the 400W will allow you to hang higher for better spread too. If you go with two bulbs I would pick 250W mogul bulbs because you can mount the 250W lower to get the best PAR to the corals, but still get the spread for the 24" width. The LumenMax are about as good a reflector as you can get as far as spread goes, so that's a really good option for the single bulb setup.

As far as bulb choices go, I would go with a Radium for the 400W and Phoenix for 250W. You can tweak the color produced by careful choice of ballast. The Radium bulb is actually a 360W bulb, so you can pick a ballast that puts out this amount like a Blueline "400W" electronic and you will get a bluer look. If you like whiter, you can overdrive it with an HQI ballast that will power it around 440W. The PAR will be relative to the watts put into it, but with only 20" depth I don't think you will need to worry much. For the Phoenix the same applies, use a 250W electronic for a bluer look (almost like Windex lol) and a 250W HQI if you like a whiter look.

No I don't have lights still piecing the last few things together.

After finally getting my house sorted out due to the long crappy story of why I had to shut my previous tank down which turned out to not be an issue with my tank but rather a issue with the plumbing in my home, I was then away alot for work this past summer and just put the tank on the back burner till now.

Thanks for all the info. I was planning to start with one reflector with a mogul base and get a 250W/400W multi setting ballast.

So I am guessing that regardless of if I go with the Lumenmax 2 or elite I should be getting close to the same coverage from each. I have also read that the elite can be bad for spotlighting when compared to other reflectors.

From what I can tell these are the only reflectors that I can find forsale online here in Canada jl was carrying the hamiltons but everything says backordered so i assume they just dont carry them anymore. So it looks like ill be going with goreef and one of the reflectors and ballast combos. Just not sure which one to get.

http://www.goreef.com/Metal-Halide-L...00W-Mogul.html

OR

http://www.goreef.com/Metal-Halide-L...00W-Mogul.html

JLs can still order u those Hamiltons as Jeff just brought the Bimini 150 w DE in for me for my nano that I am building . Its says backorder so they don't carry the inventory

If what they say is true about the phoenix bulbs I wouldn't be making any long term decisions based on them. I quite like my LumenMax 3s which I have been using for several years but lately I've been wishing I had 2s so that I could try out Radium bulbs.

Here is an article on some reflectors.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/1/review

I use both the LumenArc 3 and the LumenBright 3 in 4' wide tanks. I prefer the LumenArc 3 as the spread is better. If I was doing a 3' x 2' tank I would do a 400 se in a LumenArc 3 with a couple of T5HO or LED strips at 24" above tank.

The ReefBrite Hybrid looks interesting as well but I don't think you would get enough spread for a 36" long tank with a single one. I think 2 x 250w would work well in that tank but it depends on your budget and monthly power bill etc.

Cheers,
Tim