wich lighting for a 30 gallon?

[bubbagump]

well i would like to start out a reef tank and was wondering wich type of light is best to get. wich one has the most bang for the buck? i would like to keep some soft corals and an anenomie and thats about it. i was thinking about getting the hello lights plug-n-play 36" VHO's wich includes 2 95 watt bulbs. so that is 190 watts total and that is a little bit over 6 watts per gallon. what are the pros and cons to VHOs? i was thining about getting PC's but they are expensive. i have heard a lot of bad things about metal halides and they are pretty expensive.

 

[cap'n pete]

I just looked at hellolights.com and they have a 4 bulb 36" retrofit VHO for $159 versus $149 for the two bulb. If you want to keep an anemone, bright light is a must. The 10 extra dollars will definately be worth it. I would recommend two actinics and two 10,000K. Of course you need a canopy to mount the lights.

 

[striker]

I have 2-95watt vho's on my 29 gallon and so far they're great. I would have liked more lighting (mh/vho) to have a clam or sps but the temps would have been way too hot. If you're going to get vho's make sure it's an electic ballast(change bulbs every 8-12months) verses tar which you have to change every 6 months.

 

[striker]

I don't know how good that 4 bulb retrofit kit really is. It might be better if you wait and save up for better lights. There isn't any info on the ballast, bulbs or anything. I spent over 400 on my vho hood, fans + ice-cap ballast. If anything it might be better to wait, save up and get something you're going to be happy with in the long run. If not you might have to upgrade again in the future, exhange bulbs more often and possibly have coral deaths. Getting a better set-up will save you in the long run. Good luck.