Lighting Suggestions please!

I'm looking at getting new MH lights and after showing my wife the threads on the Odyssea lights, she said to go ahead and buy what I want;D . I'm looking at the Orbit and the Aqualights. The orbit has 2x150w HQI bulbs and 2x130w actinic PC bulbs with internal electronic ballasts. The Aqualight Pro has 2x150w MH's and 2x96w PC's with external ballasts. I like the higher wattage of the PC's in the orbit but I prefer the external ballasts and appearance of the aqualights. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

What are you upgrading to accomidate? which tank is this for?

I personally would go for something with 250W and an external ballast for sure

J

 

Its for my 75g reef, the fixture needs to be replaced. I'm leaning toward the aqualight pro because of the external balllasts but the ballasts on the orbit can be replaced. The thing I dont like about the aqualights is that the 2 Actinic PC's are off set from each other and don't run the legnth of the fixture like they do on the orbits.The rear bulb ends about 5" from the left and the front bulb ends about 5" from the right.

 

If the wife said "buy want you want". How about these
Aquamedia are real sweet 250W MH and T-5 actinic instead of the PCs.
AquaMedic Ocean Light 48" 2 x 250W plus 2x54W T5 - Black: Premium Aquatics

 

Covey, those look nice. I like the external ballasts. Now it would be nice to find one with moonlights also.
How does this look to you?
48" 2 x 250w HQI - 2 x 54w T5 Maristar - Sunlight Supply

Jim

 

Pa sells those too but i didn't suggest them because by the time you and all the parts needed to run them there $1100 vs $640 with the Aquamedics. there basically built the same too.

 

The Lebos.com carries a nice moonlight setup with a monitor. It is fairly priced and seems to be a nice set up with the whole lunar(moon) schedule.
As for the Metal halide lighting goes, I do like the Aqualight's by Coralife, however the unit is very heavy. I decided to buy 250 and 400 watt pendants which are supplemented by (2)55watt actinic pc strips as well as the moonlight mentioned above. BRUCE also has the same moonlight setup which can be designed for a small tank to a huge tank by addiding single moonlight units(bulbs). Basically one bulb supports roughly 2 feet of tank. If you have alot of live rock and coral, you may chose to add more bulbs. It is really based on preference though as each bulb costs only $5.00.
Oh as for the brand of pendant I use, it is the Hamilton Reefstar. It is very light with the ballast separate from the bulb and can be located on the floor and the light comes with a quick disconnect feature.
Hope this helps!