Lighting Suggestions for a 70gal Reef

[StarTrakJon]

I have a brand new all glass 70 gallon tank, its dimensions are
Length - 36 and a half inches
Width - 16 and one 16th inches

I am planning on getting Metal Halides as I have researched that these are the best lighting for a reef tank. I am first going to start off with easy soft corals, then later some SPS and LPS. Where should corals be placed if it needs medium to low light when using Halides? Also I have read that many people mix Halides with 50/50, Actinics, PC or VHO, what is the reason for doing this? I am really confused on what lighting I should get. Any suggestions? Also, I am looking for a system that wont go overboard on the electric bill, but still using Halides.

Which brand is the best?
Ballast?
Kelvin rating suggestion?
Any good sites that have the best deals?
Best mix with Halides? VHO? 50/50? Actinics? PC?
Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated, Thanks

-StarTrakJon

[tendar]

So how deep is the tank. THis is important in deptermining what wattage setup you will need. The mixing of halides with PC or VHO is to get more of a pleasing color to the eye. The best light producing bulbs are 65K Iwaski's but are yellow looking so people will add Actinic 03's in VHO to get a more Crisp white to even a slight blue look which is more pleasing to look at. 10k bulbs like Ushio and Auqaline AB's have more blue in them but still usally not enough for some people so they still add some actinic 03's or 50/50. Then there is 20K bulbs which are usally to blue and people will actualy add 10K VHO or PC to get some white back.
Bulbs
Now I prefer 65K Iswaki's but since they give off the most par or usable light to your corals but you will want add some VHO or PC actinics to get some blue in the tank. 10K bulbs are probably the most popular since they are more of crisp white with a little less par and people still like to add some actinics to bring out the colors in thier corals more.
Ballasts
There are alot of ballasts out there. PFO makes probably the cheapest ballast outhere but they are a tar ballast that use more electicty and get fairly hot and dont burn bulbs the best. Electronic ballast like Ice Caps and Blue line use less electricity and and burn the bulbs a little better but do cost a little more. I prefer Icecaps my self.
Kelvin rating really depends on how much par you want and how much blue you want in your tank. The higher the kelvin ratting the less par you will get. I prefer 10K bulbs here also since you dont have to run actinics if dont want to and still get a good color light.
Premium Aquatics one of the sponsers here has pretty good deals on lighting setups and will usally price match any other deals you may find on the net.
One other halide setup is the DE (double ended) HQI lighting systems. Now this is what I have switched to. These produce some of the best light intensity out there but are also one of the more expensive setups running around $300 per light setup. I run a single Reefoptix3 pendant with a Aqualine 10K bulb on a Icecap ballast and it gives off a nice crisp white light with out any actinic add ons and am getting some great colors out of my sps. These are limited to 150 watt or 250 watt and since there is little price difference the 250 watters are the way to go.

[StarTrakJon]

Thanks, I am going to get a pair of 65k Iwasaki's. As for ballasts, should I get an electronic, magnetic pulse start or probe start? What are the differences and which is better/reliable? Thanks

[StarTrakJon]

Also, I am planning on getting some power compacts for the actinics, how many bulbs should I use? Thanks

[tendar]

I only use electronic ballasts so not for sure which is best for what you want.
If your going with 65K iswaki's you will want 2 actinic bulbs.