Different lighting for different tanks

[Jpizzle]

Hi, so down to business. I have two SW tanks and am beginning to keep corals. One is 29 gal. and the other is a 20 long. The current retrofit hood I have on my 29 gal. has a 50/50 fixture with only 55 watts. I'm only planning on keeping shrooms and zoos for now, to build some experience and play it safe. But I've been keeping FW and SW aquariums for a while to know that I'm eventually gonna wanna keep more cooler stuff, which entails upgrading equipment, so I've decided in about a month (when my empty 20 long will be ready) I'm going to upgrade my lighting on my 29 gal. and use the hood on my 29 gal. with the 50/50 55 watt kit on my 20 gal long, as they are identical in hood shape.

 

Since I don't want to make little upgrades at each step for lighting, for progressively more light-loving species, I'm thinking of just going for a pendant halide setup on the 29. and just get strong lighting from the get go and avoid the steps in between. Is there anything special I need to know about halide lighting besides 'plug-in-play?' I don't trust my wiring skills, and have witnessed first-hand the dangers of aquarium water = electricity/outlets... = bad ..lol. So I'm just going to save up for a complete halide pendant setup with ballast included. Here are two links for stuff I'm considering for the 29 gal.

 

http://www.hellolights.com/17penfix.html

 

http://www.championlighting.com/e/env/0001...em=main:p250_bk

 

Are these setups pretty straightforward in installation? Just bolt the cord to the ceiling and let the hood hang ~4 inches away from the water surface? What distance is appropriate to avoid overheating my water and providing good lighting for my inverts? Also, what K (kelvin I think?) rating bulb(s) should I get for either of those two pendants? I would eventually like to keep SPS and clams, but not for a 3-5 months of solid experience in reefkeeping, but I just want to avoid paying for more expensive lights in the future. One link is for 175 W pendant and the other is 250 W. Am I going to need two pendants ($$ ouch) to eventually keep SPS and clams?

 

I know wattage is one thing, it serves well as a general guideline for keeping corals. But I'm confused about the PAR rating, I've read in books and various forums that it comes down to this rating to really know which animals will thrive. How do I figure this number out from various products?

 

Finally, with the 55 watt 50/50 over the 20 long.. will I be able to keep most softies? (shrooms, leathers, zoos, xenia, and gsps?) And depending on how people advise me on wattage and number of pendants, what could I keep in the 29 gal.? Preferably, I would like to be able to keep most SPS and clams, and maybe anemones EVENTUALLY... I know I don't have the experience just don't want to keep getting more light, and paying for it, at incremental stages.

 

Thanks for reading long noob post. zzz