[reefcouple]

I have to agree with Brian, i use HID lighting for our plants all the time, and i do also use HO T-5's, and the t-5's have their purpose but not the penetration any HID lighting with comparable wattage will have (imo), and that also goes with the research i have done, speaking with lighting experts. If you would like to, feel free to contact midwesthydroponics and speak with any of the sales team there.

As an example, i have a 1000 watt HPS with a hortilux bulb, (145,000 lumens), an individual bulb 48' long t-5 HO will produce at most 5,000 lumens. on an 8 bulb system your very best is 40,000 lumens.

And that goes for all comparisons, just a smaller scale.

I like t-5's and they may work for your tank, but i prefer HID lights..