I originally got it for about $150 off ebay, but threw out the cheap 10K that came with it and bought the Venture lamp for about $100. I made my own hood. Then the ballast blew about a month later and had to buy a used PFO ballast from my LFS for $100. (long story short, buy good parts from a quality source...)
T5's would be a very good choice as well. 400w is overkill for a 29g, but I've had good success with it, so why change... (I DO hate the high electric bills though... )