Hmm...

Well, the reason I'm going with MH to begin with is for the shimmer, I really like the effect and I think with the surge I will get some interesting caustics. The other option is to find a 70W MH to use as an accessory light, to provide that shimmer, and use 6 T5HO bulbs. Unfortunately, I've searched and searched for 70W MHs and they are impossible to find, so that idea is out... unless I call these guys http://www.venturelighting.com/NAindex.html. They have MH ballasts down to 50W, though I've never EVER seen a 50W MH bulb.

It all comes down to one thing... I need a wider tank :lol:

Hmm, a couple questions... what kind of bulbs were you using when you ran MH? How many T5s are you running now, at what wattage, with which bulbs?

I think if I remember he's running...okay I cant remember(I want to say 12 for some reason, but my brain is trying to recover from last night...) It's a big light unit though and the colour on his SPS are rediculous.

That's not surprising... 150W is pretty weak for a 21" depth..

How about 175 over 15" J? I guess what I'm asking here is will I get good growth and colour from 2 T5HOs (though they'll be 60/40 actinic and a Fiji Purple) and a 10K XM with a PFO electronic ballast?

At least, this is tentatively what I've decided I want...:lol: It'll probably all change, who knows maybe I'll go with all T5HO in the end... that's like 200 W of T5 over a 24" long tank, if I go with 8 bulbs and I end up using the 20 gallon after all, making it 25 W less than the proposed metal halide and fluorescent combo. I'm not sure if that translates to 25 W less light, or less power consumed though...

Are you sure its a 20G tall?? I thought a 20G regular was 24x12x16...

Anyways, I had a 175W MH over my 20G (regular) and I had great Monti growth, as well as good growth on digitata, birdsnest... never kept the tank long enough for acroporas...

I doubt you will fit 8 bulbs over a 20G... 8 bulbs generally spreads to 24x24.. You'd be hard pressed to fit a 6 bulb unit over it.. :)

Yes, a 175w MH will be ample on a 20 gal. aquarium. Your SPS will be fine at different levels of the aquarium. The Iwasaki was a good recommendation.:wink:

Indeed, upon further reading the Iwasaki bulb is very white when run with a good electronic ballast. So that's what I'm going with :biggrin:

Yup you're right, each reflector for a T5 is about 2.5 inches wide, but I can totally fit a MH and 2 T5s over my tank. This would also work if I get that 30 gallon :wink: Though one end would be slightly darker.

On a side note, you're more than likely right about the way I labelled this tank... it probably is just a normal 20G, but most of the other 20s I've seen in the past (not many) were longer and only 12" deep.