Hey I was just wondering if you guys could help me out some with this light fixture im looking at its here Reef Aquarium Metal Halide Lighting: SunPod HQI Metal Halide Fixtures with Lunar Lights (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13975&pcatid=13975) I was just wondering what you guys thought about it I think I want to go with the pro but I dont know anything about lightign except that I here metal halide is the best. Will i be able to keep any corals i want if i get this light. And can anyone please go into detail for me and tell me about halide lights and why everyone wants them and likes them and how corals benifiet from them.

what are the dimensions of your tank 48"L x ?? x ??

The dimensions are 48L X 12IN W X 25TALL but what i just realized that i have the black center piece on my tank and wont the light melt it??????

you would have to get a double halide fixture. manufacturers recommend 1 halide for every 2 feet of tank length and depth. you would need the 2 x 250w fixture, IMHO.

It really depends on what you want to keep and the layout or your tank. In the past, a 24 inch tall tank was recommended to have 250 watt metal halide per two square feet. HQIs are more efficient than single ended mogul bulbs in lumins and light penetration to the point where many feel that a 175 HQI is close to a 250 single ended halide and 250 HQI is close to 400 single ended. Single ended bulbs are still preferred by some because it seems to have wider dispersion of light whereas the HQIs seemed to look more focused in light penetration.

More light is generally better, but with an aquarium that is only 12 inches deep from front to back, I can't picture many specimens down low, and if you are running a DSB or Plenum, you can deduct 3 to 7 inches+ from the total height.

Keep in mind that more watts means more heat, and that would lead to more equipment need, such as a chiller, or evaporation fans. A tall tank does not evaporate heat as well as a wide tank and in many cases, will you even have room lower down in the aquarium for high light demanding specimens? Forget not specimens that demand high light will almost always also demand high rate of water flow.

I'm just think im going to try to go with the T5 light and see how i like that especially not being exactly new at this and ill work with that and see how i like it and as i get used to that then maybe later on i will upgrad to the metal halide i dotn think im ready for a metal halide yet