1st halide purchase

[Reason]

i am in the market for new lighting and have decided on halides.

a few questions have emerged and i need a few pointers.

i have a 125gal tank and was thinking about 3 250watt bulbs. is this too much, too little?

cost is always a question. how can i go about this in a cost effective way?

if i run halides, do i have to run additional lighting? Actinics?

I'm not an electritian so if retros are the wayto go where can i get a how to drawing so i dont burn my house down?

any help is appretiated
thanks

[Fatman]

I LOVE halides, I would never go any other way, the glitter is SOO worth it. I was also in a similair problem, and I decided to go with these.

http://www.petsolutions.com/Aqualight+Pro+HQI+Fixture-I-96353502-I-C-33-C-.aspx

They have different sizes depending on the tank. 3 250s is awsome, you'll really have no limit on what you can put in your tank. You'll be able to have clams, SPS, and just about any other light demanding thing. I have the 48" Twin 150Ws over my tank , their supplemented with acinitcs. I recommend actinics unless your going to go with 14ks (the temp of the bulb) or 20ks. Then its really up to you , since the bulbs themselves will be really blue.
Good luck in your choice.
PS: Dakar has an awsome DIY Halide plan but you need to be handy with electrical for it ;) I had my friend do mine for that one.

[Fatman]

Here's another picture of my tank (old back in March) with the Halides blasting.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/610c490f.jpg

Heres a good comparison, the lights on the left are standard compact bulbs (not VHOs or T5s which are WAY brighter) and the right is a 75W Halide.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/fatty0203/Stuff003.jpg

[Reason]

wow thats thebest comparison pic i've seen yet. thanks for the input