True, the heat is definitely a downside to the halides. Have you considered T5s by any chance. They would cut down on the electricity usage and heat relative to the halides. I was just looking at a Tek-Light T5 fixture (have no idea if they're quality or not) for 8 54w bulbs at around $500. The bulbs are not included in that price, and I've heard you have to replace them pretty regularly (6-8 months, maybe a year) for good
coral growth.
You're also right about the supplemental light for halides being almost a standard in the industry. Maybe a better comparison to your proposed system would be:
A) 6 or 8 bulb T5 fixture with 54w bulbs for 324w or 432w total, respectively. Low initial cost, fairly low electricity usage, low heat, but a lot of bulbs to replace.
B) 2x150w halides with a 96w actinic for supplemental lighting for 396w total. Low initial cost, higher heat, higher electricity, not too many bulb changes (the 150w bulbs are a little cheaper than 250w).
I guess I'm just being skeptical of the new technology. I haven't really seen that much written about them aside from the PFOlighting website. The initial investment is so high for the LEDs right now. I guess there's always E-Bay if they don't produce the results you want.
I'm looking at a new tank sometime soon too, so I'm bouncing ideas for my own benefit as much as for yours. If you go LED, I'd love to hear what you think about them.
