lighting upgrade

[jabbaspalace]

i currently have a 75 gal tank 48" long 20" high. with 50 lbs live rock, mated pair oscellaris, gold stripe maroon, flamefish, green mandarin, green star polyp and am looking to upgrade to reef tank with sump. the only aspect i have not decided one hundred percent on is the lighting. i wnat it to be able to handle lps as well as some sps, clams and hopefully a bubble tip. i do not feel my current lighting is sufficient and pretty sure all would agree. i have a coralife 48" pc 65x4 10,000k/420 nm actinic 50/50's. my idea is to dismantle my current lighting and incorporate it with 2x150 maybe 2x250 metal halide additions. i will run the pc bulbs with 420nm/460nm 50/50 bulbs and the MH with 10,000k's. also want to throw a few cooling fans on the new set up. does this sound appropriate for what i am looking to do or does it seem like overkill for my tank?

[BuckeyeTodd]

unless you already have the materials, sounds like it'd be easier, more cost effective, and all around better to get a new t5 unit like a tek...for what you want to do a four bulb would work and a six bulb would be a little better

[jabbaspalace]

i would def. want to go with the six bulb fixture... i do not want to get into this project and find out my lighting is holding me back. so it looks like i will be spending 400-500$ for a new fixture. i know for that type of money i could get a very nice mh retro such as lumatek at 2x250 and have my pc's added to that... seems like even the mh without the pc's would prob. be the better choice as far as penetration and output. do you think this is true? and thank you very much for your response... i know i am fairly new to the hobby but read material all the time but sometimes reading is not enough which is where i am hoping some of you members can help me out. thanks again for your time!

[NYCBOB]

ur current powercompact fixture isnt sufficient for sps or most clams. 4x65w pc isnt all that much over a 75. a 4x54w t5 actually is better than what u have now. for a 75 gallon, a 6x54w t5 is the best. if u r going with mh, 2x250w would be enough. i myself have 6x54w ati sunpower ove a 72 with clams on the sandbed.