Ok... In responding to your guys opinions about sw vs fw which is not what i was asking about at all....
Had a sw tank before I moved, things went great, awesome in fact. Had softies that were doing so well and the tank was looking great. However, I moved to a new location and I have seen zero improvement in my tank over the past few months. It is not getting better and I doubt it will without getting an RO/DI unit along with a great skimmer. (Please dont link prices on these because I am not going to get them at this time). Due to being unemployed, I should not be wasting this much money on SW expenses trying to get this tank to work. I will have to either break the tank down and restart or just take a break for a while. I would much rather take a break.
Also, I never said i was doing a high tech planted tank. Just because its DIY c02 doesnt mean its high tech IMO. All i was wondering was how would the metal halide work and if it would be too much light. Anyways feel free for more advise on the fixture setup. I dont mind if its high above the tank also.
Thanks for the help everyone.