I need everyones advice please.

[saltylake]

I have a 55 reef with mostly softies and open brains and mushrooms. I currently have Power Compacts over my tank. One blue and one white.
I am interested in adding Stoney corals... SPS.
So I am planning to get Metal Halides. What wattage and what "K". I was thinking about MH 250Watts and 10,000K. I wanted to get 400 Watts, but I thought that would be to hot. Do you think that 250 Watts without a chiller is possible in miami florida? I am interested in keeping the TWO Power compacts, and making them both blue and adding the ONE 250 Watt Metal Halide in the middle.
Is this possible and has anyone ever done this? Also can everyone reccomend good MH brands? Can I keep hard corals with this lighting in a 55 galllon?????????? Thank you for answer all my questions!!!

 

[slick]

IMO you need 1 MH for every 2ft of tank. But if you go with 1 it depends on how blue of a tank you like. 10,000k will totally out power your blues and your tank will look white. I would go with 12,000k or more but not 20's they are too blue for most people.

 

[shnookums]

10k is the whitest, but complimenting with your blue actinics is good. i currently have a 150 gallon, with 4 vho blue actinics with 3 175 mh. at first we had 2 white vho's and 2 blue but it seemed to look yellow, i switched all vho's to blue and it had made a great improvement. the tank really looks neat at night when the mh shut down. everything glows.
i think with only one mh you will get a line in the middle of of the tank, IMO i would go with 2 175 watt mh 10K.
The lights are warm, but you can go to radioshack and buy fans and put them in your canopy to suck the heat out. keep us posted on what you decide.

 

[saltylake]

ok, thanks... I am going to go with 12,000 K bulb for that bluish tint...
My next decision is whether to go with 400 or 200 or 175 watt Metal Halides... what do most people get and why??? What are the differences?? Thanks

 

[saltylake]

SHARKS???????