Needing Help with Lighting!!!!

[boomper]

I am trying to decide what kind of lights to get for a reef tank as I am looking to upgrade my FOWLR. I am very interested in MH lighting, however it seems extremely expensive. I only have a 29 gal tank, and I was wondering what type of MH people suggest. A brand new canopy setup is way too expensive (at least the sites I have been looking at), but I am intrigued about pendent lighting. Is this effective??? and what is a good price range??? Also, I only plan on keeping basic corals and inverts, so I dont need a light that can support the very advanced species. I have also read good things about the Corallife lighthing system, if anyone has feedback on this system, that would be useful as well. Thanks.

 

[flatzboy]

I would just go with a 175 watt coralife pendant with a 20k or 14k bulb and that is all you need.

 

[flatzboy]

Or a 150 watt hqi would be better.

 

[boomper]

Agreed, the more I research the more I discover that MH is probably not what I need at this point. Thanks for your help, I am currently in the process of looking up PC alternitives.

 

[scubasteve]

I don't know much about the pendants but one regualr MH bulb will light approximately a 2 ft x 2ft area. So you need to decide how many bulbs you need (which will determine what you need for your hood if you don't use pendants), and what kind of ballasts you want. Retrofits which you make your own hood for are cheaper than a pre-built system, but make sure you're getting everything you need when you order.