I have the 48" Infinity and it comes with external magnetic ballasts and an electronic starter built into the canopy. The ballasts are about 6" longx4"highx4"wide..it will become very hot when fired so you definitely don't want to put it in any cabinets..
If your all about the SPS and Clams, I'd say go for the HQI and 4 T5 HO unit as it will be much much more intense then the 8 T5 banks alone..but please don't put all your cabbage into the lighting if you can't afford a skimmer that's of any good German/Italian quality.
Hope this helps. BTW....the infinity is super sexy
