Don't overlook Oceans Motions 4 or 8 way. I am loving the 4 way in my tank. Properly set up, you can have a tank with no powerheads, just sump and closed loop.

IMO and IME that T-5's are not good for sps at depths of 24and greater I really dnt see them having the punch like MH i have had a 8 bulb on my tank a `120 gal and my sps had to be put at the top and the clam had to be pushed up to the top too. DOug can chime in here since he took care of my tank when i was in Afghanistan and saw the results. as for the flow i had the tunze's and the vortechs i really like my 40's for the size of the unit in a tank not much space they are slim and small not big and bulky. and yes they have alot of random movments on the unit for different flow. ya they are a bit more but hey aren't we in this for $$$$$$$ and wicked equipment and fish..:biggrin:
Like i say i have 3 250's on my tank the 2 outer lights are reeflux 12K and the middle one is a20 K reef optic bulb my lighting is started at
6AM- 11am morning light its a blue flood light.
11am -2PM actinic are on
2pm-9PM out side MH are on
4pm-7pm middle is on then its in reverse order...
so not all are on the whole day remember.
i could easily run 2 250s over the 5 ft tank. you could put 2 400's over your tank and have them high enough to light your tank too remember i have done that. i used to have a 280 gal tank with all softies and lps and ran 12 NO flouresants and 1 x400 in the middle too. and the lps loved it.

HTH

Looking at the J&L website it says the Stream 2 pumps are non-controllable. Does the new 7096 controller allow you to control them or am I looking at the wrong pumps?

http://www.jlaquatics.com/info/266/T...e+Streams.html

Both the 6105 and 6205 are Stream2s and are controllable. That's a typo on J&L's part. There's even a more powerful 6305 available.

The either the older 7095 or the new 7096 can control them, but the 7096 is the fancy-schmancy programmable one.

Replacing 14 HO-T5 bulbs every year will be a shock to the wallet. Maybe be able to buy bulk from a supplier to save some $$.

After you do the math on bulb replacement... 14 T5's @ $30.00 ea is actually cheaper replace than 3 'good quality' 250watt halide bulbs(approx $120ea)with 4 actinic supplements. But Honestly I'm not trying to stretch pennies. I bought what I believe is a really nice tank, a Vertex 250 Cone skimmer, I have a Dart super Gold return pump, I've decided on going with the MP40's or the Tunze 6105's and a Neptune Aquacontroller. I want to do everything right when it comes with my initial setup so I'm not upgrading down the road. If halides end up being the right choice then I'll go that route. I just don't want to rule out the t5s yet because I really like the way you can customize the color of your tank with a mix of bulbs. One thing is that I haven't found any threads or posts regarding t5s on deeper tanks except for one. Supposedly you can run with the Ice Cap t5 vho in up to 30'' of water easily but I can't find a t5 vho fixture or any information from the manufacturer backing that up. I'm confused because all I'm finding is t5 ho info not t5 vho... I'm assuming that any 3ft t5 fixture running at 39 watts a bulb is HO... is that correct?

You'll miss shimmer lines ;)

Anyway, I get away with only having two halide pendants over my 6-foot tank just fine. And with LPS/softies you won't need blazing light coverage over every square inch. I know it's subjective, but I find the best lit tanks are a combo of MH/T5HO.

I agree