Lighting

Hey All,
Is there anything special we need to know about lighting timers to be used for metal halides? Will regular ol' outdoor timers such as those used for outdoor Christmas lighting do the trick?
Thanks in advance!

Here are some pics of my 29g under these Orphek fixtures. I've got to say... the ML-7UV puts out some SICK colors. I loved it. :-)

Here's a pic of my open brain coral under my current moon light.


Here's a pic of my open brain under the ML-7UV moon light/actinic fixture.


This is a full tank shot under my current moon ...

Hey All...
Could use some expert advice. Basics are... 75G display, 35G fuge, 216watt T5 x4, 2 daylight, 2 actinic. Recently the RBTA and the finger leather appear to be pulling in. Kenya tree frag looks fine and the 5 fish seem fine. The nem's tentacles seem to have a blue/green tinge about half way down. Water chem looks good... Do we have enough light?

I want a lighting upgrade and was thinking of starting toward a DIY LED setup, but it may be a while until I can afford to put it together and I think that new items and ideas are going so fast that I'd be better served to let it play out a little more. I'm currently running 2x250w MH SE bulbs with parabolic spider reflectors and I can get a couple Lumenbright minis for about $88 each. I know it would focus a lot more light into the tank and I'd need to acclimate, but will it increase heat or ...

Has anyone had any experience with equipment (lighting, pumps, etc) from Odyssea? Their aquatraders website sure have some low prices... but I did read the post about being cheap!