Until January 25, 2002, the lighting, in this tank, consisted of seven - 40 watt normal output (NO) bulbs. There were eight bulbs at one time but I discovered water and electricity don't mix well but that is a different story...
There are many different corals that can not only live under NO lighting but will thrive under it. I had many soft corals, small polyp stony (SPS) corals, and large polyp stony corals that were doing great. However there are many SPS corals, that I would like to have, that just require more light.
Recently, I was able to trade some captive raised corals (from this tank) for 2 VHO ballasts, 4 sets of end caps, and four 110 watt bulbs.
I have the VHO lights on their own timers and I have slowly increased the amount of time they are on each day so I didn't stress the corals. After almost a month, they are on the same amount as the NO lights were.
Currently (2/1/2002) the tank uses the following lights:
3 110 watt VHO Actinic White
1 110 watt VHO Actinic Blue
1 40 watt NO Actinic White
3 40 watt NO Actinic Blue
A fellow reefer, here in Boise, uses the same brand of VHOs that I do except he uses the AquaSun instead of the Actinic White. His tank is much brighter than mine, mainly due to the AquaSuns (and he uses 8 VHO vs. 4 VHO/4 NO). We have traded corals, during the last couple of weeks and now have at least twelve SPS corals that are the same. We are going to compare the corals over the next few months to see what difference the lighting makes. This might not be a fair comparison since he feeds differently than I do and he has almost 10 watts per gallon compared to my 4.8 watts. However, I know it will be something we will enjoy!
Who knows, in a couple of years I might change to Metal Halides. After all it is a hobby!
The Color Difference with VHOs!
The most noticable change, with the addition of the VHO lighting, was the color of an acropora GARF calls the "Paletta Blue". This coral, under NO lighting, had a redish brown body with light purple tips. With this coloring, it was one of my favorite corals in the tank.
After about 2 weeks of VHO lighting I noticed the color of the coral had drastically changed. The body of the coral was turning from a reddish brown to a deep green color. The tips of the coral was changing from a light purple to a dark purple. With this coloring, it IS my favorite coral in the tank.
The two pictures below show the changes in color. The picture on the left was taken 9/6/01. The picture on the right is of the same coral, mounted (after above mentioned tumbling problem) in a different location, and was taken on 2/11/02.
I now use the Blueline 14K's. 
