55w or 96w PC for a 55g

[JeffProe]

I'm in the process of setting up a 55g [acronym:28e5d4e825="Fish only with live rock"]FOWLR[/acronym:28e5d4e825]. I've got the tank, I'm building the stand and hood. I plan on having an old 20g as a sump. Right now, I'm trying to decide what/how much light I need. I've pretty much decided on [acronym:28e5d4e825="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:28e5d4e825]. In some other post I found a link to HelloLights.com. They have two retofit kits I'm looking at. One is a 4x55w for $235, the other is 4x96w for $358. I was leaning towards the 96w, but saving almost $125 is pushing me towards the 55w. Any suggestions? I'm thinking the only photosynthetics I'll be keeping would be anemones.

Oh, and just to through one more wrinkle in to it. I saw on captivereefs.com that they have a 4x65w retrofit kit for $182. That's cheaper than both of the others. Can anyone compare these products? Besides the obvious wattage difference, how about the quality of the reflectors and/or ballasts?

Thanks in advance!

[scuba_steve]

[acronym:050e260e48="in my opinion"]imo[/acronym:050e260e48] if ya keeping an anemone ya better off with mh with 4x65 4x96 is better of course unless ya cram 8x65 under the hood for the same price as 4x96 take pics if ya do that i think the diff from 55 and 65 is one is straight pin (65) other is square (55) !!

[Bearfan]

Originally Posted by scuba_steve

i think the diff from 55 and 65 is one is straight pin (65) other is square (55) !!

Nope, it's a brand thing. I have square plug (custom sea life) pins that are 65s. You can get 96W in square also.

[scuba_steve]

cool didnt know that see ya always learn something always

[malkore]

some ballasts are 55watts, others are 65watts. Pin configuration doesn't matter.
what I can tell you is that hellolights.com kits are really good quality. The ballast is inside a 'heat sink' box, so the ballast box barely gets warm. They come with 11' long cords on the end cap plugs, with are solid rubber and resist moisture a great deal.

[JeffProe]

Ok, so now it's down to the 4x65 from captivereefs or the 4x96 from hellolights. I know more is better, but will I need the 96's to successfully maintain photosynthetics (not corals)? For monetary reasons, I am staying away from [acronym:2748e8af82="Metal halide light"]MH[/acronym:2748e8af82] for now.

[scuba_steve]

yes with the 4x65 ya will be able to keep some soft corals xenias ect..