T-5's on larger tanks

[triggerfish1976]

Is anyone running T-5's on larger tanks over 300 gallons?
I am currently running (4) 400 Watt MH's w/ (4) 48" 96 watt VHO's and I was thinking about switching over to a 100% T-5 setup. My tank is 96"L x 30"H x 48"D. Would (8) 48" bulbs w/ Icecap reflectors run off of (2) Icecap 660 ballasts be equal to or better than my current setup? The lights would be about 18" from the water surface.
I am currently keeping a mixture of everything coral wise.

 

[horkn]

your tank is "only" 30" tall, so using t5hos is really feasable. you would want to run 2 banks fo 54 watters, and use proper T5ho reflectors.

you could run longer bulbs, (60") but sine there are fewer varieties of lights in this size, going with 54watt 4 footers should do the trick.

since you have a 4" ront to back tank, you would want probably 10-12 x54 for each half of the tank.

IMHO, i would keep theMH you have, and run like 3-4 rows of t5ho in front and back of the MH. run the t5ho longer, and have the MH to run for a 6 or so hour period. that way you use less electricty since the mh will be on less time, and heating will be reduced (if its a problem), and mh bulb life will be increased.

 

[triggerfish1976]

I was thinking about just adding T-5's in place of the VHO's but I am really looking to get rid of the MH's because electrical costs are just killing me in the summer months.
What is the ideal height above the water line for T-5's?