Ok, quick suggestion from some one who has spent more on lighting than on the rest of his tank
I started with PC,s and VHO combinations, then later I added a 175 watt MH to the set up, and now I am at 250 watt HQI with normal bulbs not Double ended bulbs. Keep in mined that every time I changed my lights I have to build a new set up for them. well in hind sight start with MH for the daylight and VHO for the actinic and save your self a lot of hassle.
I will add that I kept all kinds of hard corals under the PC/VHO set up but there color was well more brown than anything else. the color got a bit better with the 175's and with the HQI 250's it is outstanding. so while they all were able to keep the corals alive only the 250's were able to bring out the nicer colors.
Steve
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