Need Advice on new lighting

[Lydo]

Hey guys. My tank is a 90G. LxWxH 48"x18"x24".

My current lighting is a 4x65W JBJ PC fixture with 4 10k daylight bulbs. And 2 48" T5 actinics with individual reflectors.

I want to upgrade my PC lighting.

I'm exploring a T5 setup of either 2 or 4 daylights with individual reflectors or a MH setup.

The problem with MH is I know nothing of them. For MH, what kind of wattage and how many bulbs would I need?

Plus with MH are they that much more expensive then my PCs? I was told they're not that bad as people make them out to be.

Thanks

[NanoGurl]

MH's are great and offer very beautiful shimmering effects on the water. They are much better then PC, and debatable whether or not they are better then T5's. MH offer a lot more heat then PC or T5.

Personally, I think MH with T5's supplement is the best way to go. It really just depends on what you want to keep. If you want to keep low light corals or fish only, one 250w MH would probably be plenty. If you want light demanding corals 2 x 250MH would do well. MH's typically cover a 2' x 2' area.

If you only want to keep a few high light animals, get one 250MH and put those corals high in the tank. Again it's really just about what you want to keep.

[Poorcollegereef]

As for MH, You will need a minimum of two 250w for your 90. Depending on where you shop for MH, they can run for $200 (including bulb & ballast) to infinty. I feel that MH are better but then again I am partial. It is really whatever you prefer. Bang for the buck, MH are a better value in my opinion, the downside to MH is Heat and bulb replacement which is $50 to $90, but on the otherhand, few if any type of coral is off limits. The value is that MH are more efficent at producing light and higher PAR values. My biggest reason for going MH was so that I wouldnt have to upgrade again.... or atleast until I got a bigger tank!

[Lydo]

The thing I like about MH is that when I go to a bigger tank that is longer I can use the same lights just add a 3rd one. My 48" T5s will be pretty much useless.

[t5Nitro]

250 watt double ended bulbs are what you should use, for longer bulb life. Go with 14k or 20k if you don't want to supplement the tank with actinics, those bulbs are more blue as it is anyway. 10k are white. I have T5 and they are ok, I can grow SPS corals along with softies and LPS, cheaper bulbs, cheaper electricity bill, but you just can't beat the shimmer that MH gives off and the corals probably grow a bit faster under MH over T5. T5 can give some great color too though if you select the right bulb combination.

[zebrafish]

I recent upgraded to MH and I am wondering why it took me so long to do so. Well I know it was saving up the money to make the initial purchase. My 250w on the 75 gal. gives me enough light for just about anything now.