Lighting Reccomendations

[mattnelson]

Hello everyone,
I've got a 150 gallon (72x18x29) tank I'm looking to support SPS coral in. I contacted Aqau Illimunination as well as Ecotech for their reccomendations, and they indicated i should purchase either:
3 - XR30G5 Pro or Blue Radions ($839 each)
or
3 - Hydra 64HD ($639 each)
While I'm necessarily opposed to saving and spending that much on lights, I'm wondering if this is overkill. However, what I don't want to do is purchase less expensive lights now and realize I need to upgrade later.
I'm new to salt water, so if there is something else you need to know, please let me know! I have time now, because I only have live rock and crushed coral in the tank and am getting the nitrogen cycle going, so it will be weeks/months before I put any coral in there.
Thanks for reading,
Matt

 

[Super Fly]

Yeah LED's are pricey, folks like them bc u can control intensity and also for their shimmer/color effect on water... If it was me, I'd go with one 60" ATI T5 fixture ($673 on BRS) and add 1 or 2 Reeefbrite XHO ($396 for 60") if you like the LED shimmer effect. T5 bulbs are great for coral growth but have to change them out annually according to recommendation but I've had no issue changing them every 1.5 yrs. If u decide to go with ATI, don't get the dimmable model as they are less reliable.

 

[Jekyl]

If price isn't an issue and you want the best coverage you can't beat t5 / led hybrids