Well I dont know of any one link that will give you info about all the various types of lighting I can tell you what the commmon types are just incase you didnt know.
Normal Output Florecents (
NO)
High Output Florecents (
HO)
Very High Output Florecents (
VHO)
T-5 Florecent (T-5)
Power Compact Florecent/Compact Florecent (
PC or
CF)
Metal Halide (
MH)
With respect to
MH the following is an extremly detailed compairson of different 250W bulbs and ballasts. A great reference
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm
NO should be used for fish only tanks as they do not produce the high output light needed for corals. I dont see much of the
HO bulbs around here but I know they exist or at least used to exist.
VHO is what some hobbists consiter the tried and true lighting for medium sized aquarims that are both fish only or reef setups. You get significantly more light out of a
VHO bulb as compaired to teh same lenght
NO bulb but also require a special ballast to drive the higher output bulbs.
PC bulbs are smaller in size than
VHO and are identified because they have ballast connectors on only 1 end of the bulb and their light tube is bent on one end. These bulbs havent been around long (less than 8 years i belive) and sometimes get a bad rap. I find the blubs need to be replaced more frequent than
VHO. T-5 is the new kid on the block when it comes to florecents. The diamater of the bulb is smaller than the T-8 sized
VHO and
NO bulbs and the output is supposed to be as intense if not more intense than
VHO. I personally have no T-5 experence.
MH is the dream lighting for reef tanks for a few reasons. First
MH bulbs allow you to get an awsome ripple effect in the water because the light comes from a single point vs the lenght of teh bulb. Second
MH is tops for overall intensity of light. You must match the wattage of teh bulb with the wattage of the ballast for
MH.
