Need advice with Lighting for 225 in-wall

[Virginia Reef]

I have ordered a 225 from Envision Acrylics. Dimensions are 72" long x 24" deep x 30" high. James recommended DE MH because of the lower heat over the bracing. I'm thinking either 250 watt or 400 watt MH with some type of fluorescent lighting (VHO, PC, or T5) for both dawn/dusk type lighting as well as actinic supplementation.

The tank will be a reef with a mix of SPS and LPS corals. I'm having trouble with finding much selection in 72" combination MH/fluorescent hoods with DE MH bulbs, especially with 400 watt MH.

I have a 48" combo hood on my 90 gallon reef tank. It has 2x175 watt single end MH and 2x55 watt PC actinic. I've never been exposed to DE bulbs. Are the DE bulbs all the same size? I seem to recall hearing that some bulbs are longer than others. I don't even know what brands of bulbs might be interchangeable. If you buy a DE fixture, are you locked into a single type of bulb?

I am looking for some suggestions about vendors for a hood of this type as well as any other suggestions for the lighting. I've never worked with retro kits. I'm building a new house now and finishing the basement myself. I'll have a large "fish room" behind the in-wall tank. I find that time for DIY projects is very short so I would prefer to buy a combination hood rather than undertake a lighting "project."

Thanks for any help.

 

[Julio]

Well, guess what, studies have shown that 250 hqi bulbs burn at 383 watts so is not much of a difference between 400 watt bulbs and the HQI, i would really like to see how high the 400 watt HQI really burn at.

 

[jsweir]

Depends on the ballast. I have 250 DEs on icecaps that are not burning at 383 watts. I used M-80s at first and it really bleached my sps. Much better for me with the icecaps.