150 or 250W DE for 20" water depth?

[Myka]

What kind of corals, anemones, and clams do you plan to keep? It's impossible to suggest lighting otherwise.

[lorenz0]

if i were buying a MH fixture that compares to the coralife this would be my choice:

http://www.current-usa.com/outerorbithqit5ho.html

personally i think that power compacts are out dated and you will get way better results supplimenting with the t5's. This is actually the fixture i considered for myself

[banditpowdercoat]

Originally Posted by Myka

What kind of corals, anemones, and clams do you plan to keep? It's impossible to suggest lighting otherwise.

To be honest, I don't know. Some SPS, some LPS, some softies. I have a Crocea clam allready, who may be moving into the new tank. I wouold like a Birdsnest or 2, Monti's, couple different colored "sticks" and small Zoa's

[Myka]

If cost is an issue, then try to find a used setup for sure. I agree that SE is probably a better choice for you because it spreads light better, but be careful about the ballast and bulb combination you choose because there are some very poor 250w SE combinations. Another thought would be to use 175w electronic ballasts with Iwasaki 15K SE bulbs, this combo is a "par breaker" and puts out more par than many 250w setups.

[fishytime]

20" depth?.....T5

[JDigital]

^^ It just does look right without that Frogspawn...

[banditpowdercoat]

How would 2 Lumenmax 3 DE 250W fair? With Electronic ballast, say a galaxy 2x250W?

[Myka]

^ Excellent choice provided you take care to choose bulbs that would perform well on the 250w electronic ballast. The Gieseman 250w DE 13000 and 14,500 K have high output on an electronic ballast. It's a shame the dang bulbs are so expensive. Giesemann's DE perform much better than their SE.

Check Sanjay's lighting guides for other bulb choices. As far as electronic ballasts go they all perform very similar no matter if they are IceCap or Galaxy according to Sanjay's testing.