What the best lighting choice?
 

I have a 70 gallon corner bow front aquarium. The depth is approximately 23 inches. There is a center brace at the top of the tank. I will keep mostly softies and LPS, maybe a clam, maybe an anemone, no SPS. And also some fish. I plan on metal halide retro fit under my canopy.

Questions:

1) With the depth of my tank, is 250 W metal halide good for what I want? Or do I absolutely need 400 W? I would like to go with 250 W if it would support the things I want in the tank.

2) Because of the center brace, would I need to have 2 bulbs with one on each side of the center brace? Or, would one bulb over the center work? Would the center brace block light at the center of the aquarium?

3) Where is the least expensive website where I can get quality equipment?

Please let me know. I want to do this right.

1) 250w is fine. Any light demanding corals/clams, just keep up towards the top.

2) Yes the center brace will cast a shadow where the bulb is above it.

3) [url]www.premiumaquatics.com[/url] is a great hardware vendor. Great customer service as well as great pricing.

Russ