Plz Give Opinions On Lighting!

[tangy-tang]

Ok, heres the deal. In the next month I am going to be buying my lights. I just as still unsure what to buy. They are much to expensive to mess up and buy the wrong ones. My goal is to buy what I need and will pretty much ever need. I want enough lighting to be able to have in my tank whatever I want. If I want corals, clams, anemones, or whatever, I can have them. I have read through so many lighting questions and see that there are so many opinions, so I need to come to the common factor. I am also unsure of a few things that I need help with.
1. I am assuming a retro-fit is the stuff needed to fix a certain lighting system under your canopy. ??
2. A hood is basically the system all put together and all you do is mount it above your tank and plug it in. ??
3. A pendant is the small fully enclosed light. ?? Do they need fans? are they as good as the other 2?
My thoughts, correct me if I am wrong, are that none of the above matter except when it comes to how you plan to set-up yer lighting whether it be under a canopy or whatever.
I have also come to the conclusion that MH are the bes and have decided to go with MH. Now I need to know a few things about MH.
1.What is the 5500k, 10000, etc. mean (dont mean to sound to dumb)?
2.What watt and 00000K should I go with to be enought but not over kill.
My tank is a 55 gallon.
Please help me out beofe I spend to much money on too much or not enough. The more opinions I get the better I'll feel! :scared:
Thanks,
Mark

 

[db]

You are correct that it doesn't really matter what direction you go as far as pendant, retrofit, or hood. The key is making sure you buy a high quality fixture. I personally prefer the Aqua medic hanging fixtures, but there are obviously options. The Aqua Medic fixtures are reasonably priced and come with High quality bulbs. If I were you I would go with two 150w MH pendants over a 55. You would have enough light to keep clams, sps, etc.
When you are looking at bulb choices you are going to want to get something atleast in the 10K range. Depending on the manufacturer these bulbs normally range from a yellow/white color to a ice white. The higher you go in temp 14k, 20K the more blue bulbs normally become. Once again it can very manufactuer to manufacturer. Some 20K's have a hint of blue where others are very blue. You have to remember that as you go up in temp the less intense the bulbs tend to be. I would say the one exception to this rule would be the Pheonix 14K. These bulbs have very good intensity and color.