MH vs PC wattage comparison

I have a 75 gallon corner bowfront reef tank, with about 80lbs of liverock, it houses some polyps, sea fans, sea squirts, and a brain coral. Right now I have a 56w 4ft fluorescent strip. I know its not enough lighting and I am looking at 2 different options.

One is a 178W MH (1-150W MH and 2-14 T5s), The other is a 192W (2-96W PC Fluor). While debating which fixture to get I began to wonder if the 150W MH is brighter than the 192W CP. I've seen a comparison between Flourescent and Incadescent lighting, but never one from MH to CP. Bottom line is I am trying to see which setup is best for my reef.
Thanks

 

Hands down MH, this inst even debateable

 

So is the MH brighter?

 

Yuppers, MH is much brighter/effective at depths than PC

 

Agreed MH will out do PC easy.

 

I'm gonna be that guy and throw in the suggestion of using straight T5's. We can debate this issue into the ground and then some...and to each their own. So take what you want!!

T5's run cooler than MH, they're typically cheaper and I feel that they have a decent output given that you get the right fixture for your tank.

Now MH's might have a deeper penetration, suitable for larger, deeper tanks. They also give this "shimmer" that gives the tank a nice look.

I just prefer T5's personally...I would stay away from PC's as well.

 

The tank has a depth of 24" so I am not to sure about T5's. The longest fixture I can get is 36", the 48" I have now is temp and exceeds the length of the tank end to end. I am building a canopy and the fixture would need to fit inside.

 

Metal Halides, its not even a contest. PC lights cant hold a candle

 

Don't even consider PCs.

If you want to talk MH vs T5s then you can get a debate going.

 

Once people get this whole MH penetrates farther than T5 we will all be better off.... If you want to debate what is better/more efficient/more eye catching go ahead but the depth debate is silly IMO....

Camping if you haven't seen my tank or read my posts I have a 180 SPS reef lit by T5s.... Nice thing about it is I am drawing at least 100w less than what I would be with a comparable MH setup... Do I have good PAR penetration? Well for 640 watts drawn and 270uMol/m2/sec on the sand bed I would say yes, yes I do.

As far as your specific question, its been answered numerous times... PC is IME not worth purchasing, unless its absolutely dirt cheap and you are planning on easy to keep softies and LPS....
Lamps are lousy, reflectors are lousy, ballasts usually short as they are skimpily made Chinese ballasts(no offense Steve) and the units are overall inefficient.

I would say MH all the way... or better yet T5!