55g lighting upgrade

[oregonbud]

Hey all,
Well I recently came into a little cash and was thinking about upgrading my lighting from the 4x65 watt pc hood I have, and was hoping some of you could offer some recommendations.
This time money is not really an object when it comes to the lights (last time I was limited as to what I could spend which is why I opted for the pcs) I do not really want to have any sps corals, but would like to have at least one nice clam, and a couple brains, then the rest of the tank will have lps and soft corals.
With that said I was thinking about getting a dual 175 MH with 2 110w vho bulbs, but didn't know if that would be overkill for the tank. So I guess my question is - if you could have any lighting you wanted for a 55 what would you choose?

 

[oregonbud]

Kip - how often do you have to replace the MH bulbs?
I know for the PCs and VHO's they say every 6 months - is it the same recommendation for the MH? Or does MH hold its spectrum for a longer time then flo's?
I would love to get the MH setup, but the big thing holding me back is the price of replacement bulbs when I need to replace them (cant be shelling out 200 in bulbs every 5-6 months at this point in my life)
Thanks
OB

 

[oregonbud]

Cool that is a much more reasonable replacement rate for them then I was thinking - Thanks, now just gotta get the final ok from the wife

 

[wwfstyle]

Hey I was just in the LFS that you like here in Salem. He sells some of his lights used (balasts, wireing, and bulbs, the hole set). I would talk to him about your lighting. I was talking to him about my 75 and he said that he will try to help me if he can. I must have been in his store for close to 2 hrs. Talk about great customer service. We talked about everything with my tank and my long-term goals with this tank. I think that the 2 VHO and a 175 MH would be fine. I'm looking at getting 4 VHO and a 250 MH. But of course thats my long term goal for my lighting LOL. Talk to ya later.... Rick

 

[rolangunslinger]

Hello Oregonbud,
I have a 55 long tank and am looking to upgrade my lighting from the standard NO florescent. I saw that you were considering going to MH lighting and I would be interested in buying your 4x65 PC system if the price were right.
Let me know if you are going to buy the more powerful system and if you decide to get rid of the old one.
I might very well be interested.
Thanks

 

[oregonbud]

Rolangunslinger - Sorry they aren't for sale, I'm planning a new tank, and will use them on it. Thanks for asking though.