[JMaxwell]

Hahn,

Thanks again for all this info. You are really helping me out. Right now, I am leaning toward 250W HQI rated with the lumenbright reflectors. Looking at Sanjay's data, it appears that I can get 100%+ more PPFD hitting the water than w/ my current lighting setup + better coverage and focus on my tank footprint. That seems like a material improvement to me.

Given that my tank is over 2 years old, healthy, and growing (slowly), I hesitate to go as far as HQI rated 400W which would end up with 1000W watts over the tank. That would be a huge change from where I am at and I'd worry about whether my chiller could handle it in the summer time or if it would kick off a nasty algae bloom or something.

Two more, but hopefully last questions. In your opinion, is the Ushio 14K (you run these, right?) quite similar to the Geisemann 14K except less output? (Just to be clear, I don't want the blue, blue look of phoenix or aquaconnect.) I'd probably run these w/o t5 supplement.

Do you have any opinion on the new Icecap electronic ballasts? They claim to be able to run any type of bulb (SE, DE, HQI, not HQI), but can they drive an HQI bulb at PFO M80 output? Should I just get the PFO M80 or are there better options?

Thanks again,

JSM