You can get regular t-5 for much less, but I myself would stick with standard fluorescent or blow the whole wad on the good ones.

My 180 has a glass hood and I run T-5's on it without problems. They do get a little warmer than t-8's IMHO but not too much warmer. It's getting a thorough cleaning/reorganization tomorrow.
my 2 pennies
mike

Just a thought but if I had to do it over again, I would probably go with PC lights for the 180. Here's a link to look at them and see the options.

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I've ordered from this company before and was mostly pleased, but not completely and therefore, can't (won't) recommend them. The one thing I wasn't pleased about is two of the double bulb strip lights quit working less than a month after purchase. They still look brand new. Anyway, if you run into a situation like, you have to pay to ship the lights back and then pay shipping again for the replacements.
regards
mike

My new tank is 72", would it be ok to use two 36" fixtures? If I get the kind with legs would that be a problem?

Hi wooz,
that's (36" fixtures) all I use on my 180 which is a six foot tank. The legs shouldn't be a problem but try to make sure they're not "tank fitting" legs with the 90° bracket at the bottom of the leg to go to the sides of your tank. The PC on my 75 has those and I could see where those kinds of legs would be a problem.
best of luck
mike

All of our T5 sit right on the glass tops. I've never had any problems. We use all T5s at the store and they sit on all types of tops (reptiles) and we haven't had any problems there either. When you come in I can show you all the differences. Your tank is in by the way, lots of comments on how neat it is.

H

Agreed I use two sets of 36'' T-5's that is used on a 30 breeder for saltwater corals. Granted the shallowness of the breeder plays an important role that I'm able to propogate in it. Still the intesnity and lighting ability itself is well worth the couple extra dollars. Think about it, these lights include (i believe) the 6700k and full spectrum for right around 100$. For a ballast with just a standard flourescent depending on the size that you'll need can cost you right around the same price.