advice please.....

we are about to make the purchase of a lifetime.......a nice lighting system for our 120 gallon tank. we have researched until our heads are spinning with information. we have been contemplating 48" icecap reef illuminations as well as coralife 250 w pro series..and also marineland 48" marine series?, any suggestions? just dont want to make a very expensive mistake...we dont want to spend more than 1,000..........any advice is appreciated.

 

Icecap has gone out of business, so I wouldn't recommend that one just due to any possible warranty issues. (I don't know if there are any or not) IMO, I would go with a Maristar star fixture. You can get a complete setup for just under $1000. It has two 250w MH, 2 54w T5s, active cooling, great reflectors, attractive looking, quality built and you can choose your ballasts, I would recommend Galaxy ballasts, I use them and really like them.

 

i checked those out and seem pretty good. anymore suggestions out there? what does everyone else here use? or how about a list like a top 5 rated fixture list?

 

if you can spend that much, i would do an led combo fixture, like with t5's or halides

 

i would retro fit 2 250W MH's and then add led's for actinic supplement.

 

I would look into the aquatic live fixtures and retrofits. Personally I like any 6 bulb HOT5 kit for your size of system.