[rayjay]

>Each ballast has a GE daylight and a Philips actinic 03 on it.<
Each ballast has a GE daylight 20 watt lamp and a Philips Actinic 03 lamp.
The GE daylight is 6500 K and the Actinic lamp is the blue lamp. Combined they produce a whiter light that is more pleasing to look at and some corals will "floresce" under this lighting. The "one with one" ratio just happens to be what appeals most to me. Its always different wit different hobbyists as the eyes vary in how they see things. You might like more blue or less blue for instance.
The GE lamp costs around $4 and the Actinic 03 costs around $14 here in Canada.
My hood on my 20g tank is actually set up for 6 lamps, even though I have only four at the moment. If I decide to put sps corals in it, I will put two more lamps and another ballast in the hood for a total of 120 watts
If you make a hood, just drill holes at each end for 6 lamps and just ramp up as you get more light demanding corals, and, or course, more money to do it all.

[loveforfish]

so must of this you get at home depot?

what is the total cost of all this meterial.

is there a pined topic or a site i could go to that would give me all the information on lighting?

[rayjay]

Originally Posted by loveforfish

so must of this you get at home depot?

Yes, but there are obviously many other suppliers of the same items, so chose what is convenient/cheapest for you.

what is the total cost of all this meterial.

Sorry but I don't remember, that was about 6 yrs ago. Also, prices here in Canada bear no resemblance to prices in the US.

is there a pined topic or a site i could go to that would give me all the information on lighting?

I don't know what info you are looking for on lighting can you be more specific? I explained how I solder and connect the lamps to the ballasts, and that no one else probably does so there won't be a site about that. The ballasts usually have a wiring diagram on the label showing how you need to wire each pair of lamps. Is there anything else you need to know on lighting?