I remember that 3 years recoup too. But ofcourse I didn't listen to it then b/c I already have an electronic MH ballast on hand.

In 4 years though who knows what new product will come out. We might have some better bulbs that put out the same intensity at half the wattage.
I'm getting T5 Florescent in.

From Bluesreef on RC:

T5 Off

T5 On


"In the pix [below] 400 w HQI is on the left side and 320w in T5 light is in the right side."


The tank above was being run by HQI at first. He tested out the T5 on the right side to see if it work. After the test, he switched the whole tank over to T5. He's been running the whole tank w/ T5 for about a year now.

All the picture above are of European tank. I'm going to overdrive my T5 w/ my Icecap 660 Ballast. So, it might get brighter then those European tanks.
You can make a light hood like the above out of Textured ABS. You can buy ABS from acrylic shop. It should make for a good group project!!!!