what lighting to use? 3 choices

[attempt]

hello
i am new to posting to this board. I have just set up a 40 gal long
reef tank. I will be needing to get new lighting for it as the 30" 65w smartlight i have will not be large enough
there are 3 PC lighting systems i am looking into. I would like the advice of fellow reefers as to what is best. the contenders are
JBJ Lighting, Custom Sea Life and Coralife

i have never seen the JBJ lighting system in person, I have heard good things about it though.
I have noticed that with the smartlight the actinic is very dark blue the daylight is very white where as the coralife has a light purple actinic and the daylight is rather yellow.
I dont know how this affects the spectrums and which is better for corals

First is my choice from from JBJ lighting

PL-JG3-41/10K-S 48" FORMOSA DX (65W*4) (2) 10K DAYLIGHT/(2) 7100K BLUE 260 WATTS 48" x 9" x 3.2"
http://www.jbjlighting.com/sys_formosa_dx.html

2nd is the Smartlight (already have the 30" model 1 65w 50/50)

48" SmartLite 2-65 watt 2-SmartLamp 48" x 6" x 4"
http://www.customsealife.com/NewFiles/briteLite.html

third is coralife (my LFS is really pushing this one)
48" AQUALIGHT WITH 2-65 WATT ACTINIC AND 2-65 WATT 10,000K STRAIGHT PIN BASE WITH FANS
http://www.esuweb.com/new_site/ccc_53106

Please help me out here!!

[moonpod]

If you gotta make the mistake of PC lighting then go w/the CSL unit. Best quality IMO.

[attempt]

not heard of CSL lighting... do you have a webpage for it?
also you said make a mistake with PC?
what other lighting do you suggest?
wont a MH boil a 40 gal tank?

[moonpod]

Originally posted by attempt
not heard of CSL lighting... do you have a webpage for it?
also you said make a mistake with PC?
what other lighting do you suggest?
wont a MH boil a 40 gal tank?
Uh CSL=customsealife=the smartlite thing.

I've had nothing but frustration w/PC. the bulbs don't last long, the break/short easily, actinic is a joke, the effective output is poor etc...But hey, they're cheap....VHO is better IMO, especially for smaller systems and actinic

[attempt]

ooops im stupid CSL custom sea life DUH !!
anyways explain what you mean by mistake on PC lighting
i would like to know my other choices,
thanks :)

[moonpod]

do search on complaint threads and PC. They're all over. Essentially it boils down to this:
1)bulb life is lousy. 6-9 mos is what most find before color shifts occur
2) the bulbs are FRAGILE--all kinds of minor things short 'em out
3) LOTS of poor quality fixtures out there--some have even been associated w/fires
4) lots of lumens produced, but not that much of it gets to the tank. At least a third of the light produced spends its time bouncing around the inside bend of the tube, not going into the tank where it'll serve a useful function.
5) most PC actinic bulbs are a joke. The URI VHO superactinic is the benchmark....you won't find any PC tube like that.

For a 40 long, VHO is plenty, though yes, there are lots of things you can keep w/PC lighting in a 40. MH CAN cause heat problems, but used judiciously w/LOTS of ventilation can also be an effective way to light your tank. Personally I'm using T5 right now. It's a new linear fluorescent lighting type. Take a VHO and shrink down it's diameter--in europe it's gotten good results w/surprisingly low wattages being used. Experimental at this point in the US I'd say. Noones really been using 'em more than for like a few months.