[Mangrove]

I need help deciding the route to go. I have a 55gal tank (perfecto with plastic center brace) and mainly will keep LR, hermits, snails, and some mushrooms. At least thats my plans. I have currently a 4ft NO flourescent dual 40watt hood.
Should I:

A: Get a dual 250w MH
B: Just buy XX brand/type of NO 48" flour bulbs

[dougchambers]

Mangrove,

Your ultimate plans for the tank will play into your lighting decision heavily. If you aren't planning on keeping types of SPS and clams, I would think MH is overkill.

My opinion would be to get a good ballast and load some VHO's. With your 55 gallon tank, you may be able to load the 46.5" VHO bulbs depending on your hood design. Once you have the VHO setup, you have more options on bulb type and overall wattage at less cost than MH.

Personally I like the IceCap ballasts. I've tried the hellolights ballasts with good success as long as you don't want to run X10 controls.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Doug