Im so Undecided can you help me choose

oh yeah, my frag tank that I want a 400w MH for is 20"s on the nose, BUT I plan on keeping light loving SPS's in it and I am going to build a custom hood with polished aluminum sides that have a 45 degree angle all around to spread the side light out more so its not just fixed on one spot in the tank like a typical MH.

 

sounds like a sweet idea geek!!

 

I may go with 2x250w with the same hood idea just so I know for a fact there will be enough light. I found a hook up on T5s and MHs.

 

Metal Halides! Have you ever went to a public aquarium or a pet shop that sells coral and seen them run anything but MH's on their systems??? There has to be a reason in that!

 

The LFS here doesnt even carry MHs. They use PCs on their coral tanks.

 

You can keep SPS under PCs, I am doing it right now. Though they are not the high light demanding ones, but they are sps none the less. T5s are the next big thing in reef lighting.

As I said before, MH's are good for deep tanks, but not shallow tanks unless its all high light demanding SPS.

 

I work in a situation that allows me to use every type of light there is I have softs growing under LED's and P/C's also T-5's and VHO's and M/H from 150 to 1,000 watter's The single best combo for growing SPS and LPS are a combo of VHO's actinic and M/H's
I daily monitor their growth rates and health , Its my Job And I said this when T'5's first hit a few yrs ago for commercial use that they sucked and not much better then P/C really .
Thats my opinion and thats all it is , the single best thing the T5 has to offer is ease of use by the end consumer a plug and play deal. If you go with M/H's and VHO combination then you will have all the best until a truly better set up and type of bulb appears . Until then I'll take the VHO and M/H combo.. Its what I prefer use and I have access and can build them all .
But its your tank and money and choice

Its more then possible to keep a coral under P/C's But keeping and growing are two different things Plus coloration and growth rates and health. I ran VHO alone for yrs with Clams and sps But when I went to M/H I saw the difference in the corals. Look at a LFS show tank and if they have sps and clams I doubt they use P/C's I have never seen one us them on a store display tank and as for their display tanks to sell from the animals are just passing through.

 

Also with this hobby you will realize opinons are like b-holes, everybody has one, and its usually different then the next persons.

 

holy smokes !!!!!!!! you hit the nail .. Since ive been on this site, ive learnt shirtloads of info ..So i now take that down to my lfs and ask questions ...that ive learnt here .. He tried to tell me that my bta will hide if i put over 18w white (regular output that is !!!!LOL) So i look at his tanks (lfs) they all have t5 !!!!!(What a Wanker)

Another mate of mine is a bit of a reefer (FOWLR) he looked at the bta and said "Lights are the issue" get rid of them. So im Purchasing t5,Thanks for the input all.. The big one is when i started reefing 3-4 yrs The lfs told me that regular output were the go!!!so i got them and ive had nothing but crap growing in my tank ...But now ive added a fuge , totally stripped down the skimmer/HOB filter ..the algae has slowed but i see the light at the end of the tunnel with t5 lighting......yyeaaahhh

Then i wont be embarrased to put some shots up for all to see what mattgeezer is doing down under with his reef tank Im so excited

 

I'm a metal halide fan myself...what can I say!!! So you know my vote!