Lighting my 75

So I thought I had everything figured out. I have a 24" fixture over my 20g with 250x mh, 2x 65w pc, and 4x led moonlights. I bought it off eBay a couple years ago for $180 and love it. I was planning on buying another to mount in my canopy. I thought 2 of these fixtures would be perfect for my 75.
But...now i cant find the fixture anywhere. I guess it was discontinued or something. So now I've been looking at T5's. Ive seen some 48" 6x 54w for around $250 on eBay. I guess thats a decent deal. My real concern is not being satisfied going from MH to T5. I like the idea of less heat but know I'm going to miss the shimmer effect :-/.
So the questions I have are...

Has anybody here gone from MH to T5? If so, how satisfied/unsatisfied are you and why?

Would everything on my signature be OK under a 48" 6x 54w fixture?

Thanks,

 

You really don't have anything that is that light demanding. I have only ever used T5s, but when I do my upgrade in a year or two, I will be using MH. Basically it's for aesthetics, isn't that the entire point of this hobby? I like T5s, and you can grow anything with them, but I want to try MH.

 

Yea, I do want to try t5.. I haven't really heard anything bad about them. I'm just worried about spending the money on them, then thinking damn I wish I had just gone with mh again.

 

I would have the same concern. Many people are very happy with T5s and they can keep any coral and still have good coloration. Others have switched from T5 to MH and will never go back. I may switch to MH and not like them, but I'm still gonna try them. I've seen tanks lit by MH and love the way they look. If I were you, I would try to personally view tanks lit by T5s to see how they look and see if you want to go that way.

 

I was running T5's on my 120. for some odd reason 2 of my lights started messing up. I took the light back to the LFS and they let me trade it back in for another one and gave me full credit on what I paid for it. I went ahead and bought a MH/T5 fixture. so far I LOVE IT. I really like the shimmer effect. So to get back to the original question. I have had them all PC,T5 & MH. I think it depends on what you want to keep. The advantage of the T5 is you can change the bulb combination to get what you want. see DR fragensteins T5 lighting questions he has some very good info on there. I think I have the best of both worlds now with my setup. JMO heres a few links that might help you. I have the outer orbit one now.

48" Current USA Outer Orbit 2x250W 10,000K HQI-MH w/ 4x54W T5 HO & 18 Lunar Lights* - AquaCave

Odyssea Metal Halide System

 

Based on your stock list this is what I would do.

Get a better quality retrofit kit to mount in the canopy, but get less bulbs. You only have relatively low-light coral right now. I bet you could maybe even get by with 2x 54w T5 bulbs. I would go with 4 to be safe and to ensure better coverage of the whole tank.

This way though you will be easily able to add another 2 bulbs in the future if you decide you want more light-loving coral in the future. Also getting better quality reflectors/bulbs means you're using your electricity more efficiently by getting better output per watt of energy consumed.

Also look at LED moonlights if you like shimmer, they will give you some shimmer similar to MH but not quite as extreme.

Here is a good 4-bulb retro kit that comes with good bulbs.
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...put_Retrofit_Kit_w!_Bulbs_by_AquaIllumination

 

Not sure if I posted that right, but what do you guys think about this light?

48'' Reef Aquarium Light T5 HO 6X 54 Lighting w bulbs! - eBay (item 300371055977 end time Nov-30-09 14:31:20 PST)

 

I don't see any brands or any real details on it. I wouldn't take a chance personally.

 

Yea you're probably right. I just thought for the price it sounded pretty good.

 

Man, I'm going nuts! I have a little money to spare right now so I'm ready to buy, just can't figure out what light to order. I'm trying to find the best possible deal on the lights so I can splurge a little more on the skimmer. I was really hoping to spend around $500 for the both.