which of these T5's would you get for a 29 gallon?

[gfk]

http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/subsubcategorypage.asp?subcatindexid=lt-t5-sy

i was thinking the 6 bulb 24 inch. it bothers me that 29 gallons are 30 inches so id have like 3 inches on each side but i imagine it wont be that noticable.

I might retrofit with some MH later but for now i think i want to try out T5 for the low heat factor.

would 6 bulbs be too much?

 

[duec22]

To be honest I don't like the prebuilt hoods like that. I think you can get better coverage with the retros. Somehow I must have an odd 29gal as mine is only 25" wide, but is deeper than a normal 29. What you could do is get the retro and stagger them so that you would still get fairly good coverage on both ends of the tank.
As for how many bulbs...without the individual reflectors 6 bulbs propbably isn't too much. I've only got 5 of my 6 bulbs (TEK w/ind reflectors) over the tank, and it's a LOT of light. I've lost a lot of color from my LPS due to overexposure, and had a hard time getting some of my new SPS frags use to the new lighting. However once everything get use to it I think I'm going to have some pretty impressive color.

 

[gfk]

I was also thinking of geting the 4 bulb, and then when im ready for MH, disassemble the hood and retrofit it with a 175 watt 14k