Upgrading lighting

[j-cal]

I am considering upgrading the lighting on my 55 "reef" from 130 watts PC to MH.
How much should I expect to pay and what additional lights will i need to avoid lights making my tank look discolored (if any). I've been looking at systems with 2 fans built in and 2 bulbs (wattages vary) and price is looking like 400-500. that seems rather high, but im wondering if im just used to really cheap prices since i buy everything wholesale from my LFS. I'm also looking into red sea brand MH, but I'm not sure if my supplier can even get them.
I'm also considering just getting 130 more watts of PC since it is reletively cheap for me to do so. Any input is welcome.

 

[bdhough]

Well. Look for the 48inch all in one halide fixtures. If you want to go that way. You could try and build your own canopy and then buy retrofit kits. That may be a little cheaper. Your prices sound about right. You going to pay at least 300+ i'd say. As far as what you get ask yourself what corals you want to do. If you like them all get halides, if you like zoos and shrooms pc's, sps halides.... and so on.

 

[spsfreak100]

If you wanted good lighting I would recommend 2x 250wt 10,000k Ushio's on Dual PFO (HQI?) ballast (with Mogul Sockets, spiderlight reflectors, etc.) along with possibly 2x 110wt URI "03" Actinic VHO's. Such a setup would run around $400.00-$600.00, depending on where you bought the setup from. There are hundreds of different posibilities when it comes to halides. If you wanted, You could just run the Ushio's by themselves, without the actinic VHO's. It's really up to you, although I would look at bulbs over 250wts each.
Take Care,
Graham