6ft Tank with 60" T5 lighting

[award212]

Looking for some pics of 6ft tanks with 60" T5 lighting. I'm considering a 8 x 60" ATI fixture for my new 180g, primarily SPS, and wonder how the extra 6" of tank on each side of the fixture will look.

 

[Cultivatedcoral]

6 inches on each end with no light is a lot of real estate where you cant place any sps. I just don't see how that would work on a primarily sps reef.

 

[Scuba Steve]

Here is a 6' tank with 6 t-5 on it. Does just fine.

 

[T-Boner]

Here is mine 180 6 ft long with 60 in lights

 

[Prince916]

those two tanks are the same.

 

[award212]

6 inches on each end with no light is a lot of real estate where you cant place any sps. I just don't see how that would work on a primarily sps reef.

I haven't completely ruled out MH. Would 250w MH's be enough or would I need to go to 400w to be able to keep SPS at all levels of my tank?

The ongoing cost of MH is more than the T5 fixture when factoring in electricity and bulb replacement. Are MH really that much better or is it more preference?