I didn't try metal halides because of money too... I really didn't want to prove anything either. Maybe just that newbies can keep SPS if they try hard enough (that was my first tank) everyone said that SPS werer hard to keep and I really wanted a challenging hobby. There is this stigma that SPS must be under halides to do well and I guess with my experiences I don't agree. What I did different?? Well the only thing I can think of is that my heart was in that tank. It was my pride and joy and I loved every aspect about my tank and every creature that lived in there. I kept my water quality high and I ran a CPR backpack skimmer, and an Aquaclear 200 filter. I had 2 MJ1200 powerheads and a LOT of live rock crammed into that tank. I never had water quality issues (cept when a neighbor decided it was ok to put tap in there while I was on vacation... hair algae heaven) anyways water quality was high, and I added Calcium faithfully. I have pics that show the progression of growth in my Stylophora. I didn't have a large bio-load either... Just the clarkii and blenny. I think that helped keep the water clean. If you look at my rockwork, I also had the rocks very close to the top of the water where the light was the strongest. I placed all of the SPS that needed high lighting up at the top. I don't know what else to sayI really miss my tank and hope to get a 240 going in the near future. I will have halides on that one (4-250W)
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