Retrofit kit questions

I have been doing some research about lighting systems for my 75 gallon tank and have some questions about which way I should go. I like retro fit kits just bc of cost, but how simple is it to set up. I by no means know much about electrical and was just wondering if I could pull it off. I also haven't figured out. What kind of set to go with. What I was thinking was running 2 175s and 4 t5s. Is that too much or not enough? I would like to eventually set it up with nems, clams etc. But it is going to be at least til summer before I can even think about getting water in my 75 but I just want to get everything thouroly researched before I get to that. Also what brands do y'all recommend I know not to go cheap on everything cause I don't want to have to replace everything down the road but cost is an obvous concern that we all have. I appreciate your time and answers in advance. I'm sure I have alot more questions but I don't want to flood the thread and I have to get to class here soon. If there is anything else or info you need from me just ask. I won't feel offended or anything that's why I turn to y'all for expertise. Thank you again

 

For anemones and clams I think you would probably be better off with 250w MH lights. I'm not sure you'll have room to fit 4 T5's as well as the MH in that space, 4 T5 bulbs with reflectors take up about 12" which doesn't leave much room for the MH unless you get creative. I think on a 75g 2 MH and 2 T5 is probably more standard. The T5's most people use are just for color (blue/pink/actinic bulbs) I think since MH doesn't offer a huge variety of colors like T5 does.

I'm not an expert at MH retro kits but a good 6 bulb T5 retro should handle anything you want to keep in that tank as well, and would be cheaper to run than the MH/T5 combo. The T5's would be a little over 300 watts and the MH, even if you used 175 watt MH would be over 450 watts.