I know I will be the voice of disagreement here, but having done this long enough and with large enough of systems (550g to 1000g), I feel I have earned that right.
Chiller:
I would not get any les than a 1 HP unit. The last thing I would get is the pacific coast unit. There is a reason they are half the price as others. I bought a 2 HP unit from them and short of replacing the compressor itself, I had to replace everything else at least twice. First they denied me service under waranty claiming I had to send the chiller back to Washington state from FL (at least $400 in shipping round trip) despite an independent AC expert in my area that also services chiller testifying to the fact that the unit came with a torn copper tubing and no refrigerant. It was not until I got in RC and gave them a bad review, despite exhausting other very polite avenues with them over the phone first, that the owner called me and "wanted to do right by me". Did they replace parts from then on for me? Yes, but I spent at least close to $400 in shipping not to mention the hundreds in service work everytime the freaking thing would die on me (every 3 months almost on schedule)!!!! I finally threw it away!!! I also know of at least 5 other people in my area as well that have had nothing but horrible stories from their chiller, so I amazed to actually read the positive stories here. As JustJoe and others recommended above, Aqualogic are very well built, work very well, and have a long track record. They are over priced though for what they really are. Tradewinds is another one I would personally recommend. They seem very very well built with quality parts, the owner seems like a very nice and straight forward guy, and their prices are actually very very competitive. I know what most of the parts to a 1 HP chiller cost wholesale, so their prices are very good.
System in general:
First of, contact the company you got the 400 watt ballasts from and ask them if you could send them back for an exchange for 250 watt. The unnecessary heat and electrical cot will come back to hunt you in a few short months. It is money that can be better spent in livestock or something else. You made the best investment already in the reflectors, so unless you ahve a tank more than 3.5 feet wide (front to back) and/or more than 3 feet tall, you don't need 400 watt MH even for straight SPS and clams all the way to the bottom. Your pump selection is also pretty wastefull and inefficient. I say it because I have been down that road already. Get rid of the Iwaki pumps and get more efficient pumps like the Sequence pumps. For flow, get some of the Tunze streams or the Vortechs. Not only do the Iwaki add a ton of heat, but they use a ton of electricity too. I hate the looks of the tunze streams as they are huge, but it is a give and take. Regardless of resources, there is nothing perfect in this hobby.
Best of luck to you.
