Oh, My halides are on 12 hours per day. The T5s are on for 10. I like the shimmer effect in the morn and at night, it looks very natural.

"i do not like automatic systems, so i will be following a strict regimen as to maintaining/monitoring the system." PITA!!!!
As for automation.....
I run no skimmer with a heavy bioload. I have been for about 6-8 months. The colors of my SPS are outstanding and have only gotten better. I run a 29g tank under the 75 with 1 1/2" sandbed in it (about two bags). There are no baffles, the return is submerged and surrounded by rocks. There's approximately 70 lbs in the sump. I have no filter socks, nor a sponge filter on my return. I have my floats on the lowest setting (hang on floats) to allow for enough water in case of a power or equipment failure. The excess space in the sump, around 1 cubic foot, is used for macro algaes. I have three different types. I assume that different types absorb different nutrients, so that's my logic there. IT ROCKS. I leave my fuge light on 24/7. I use a tall saltbucket for my ATO reservoir.

The cool part???
This system really runs itself, aside from adding top off water to the ATO, doing a large WC every three months, and feeding every other day.

I used to have my hands in my tank constantly. I believe that hurts more than helping. It only made sense to me to automate what I could without relying on too much. I have had skimmer overflows while out of town, so that was the first item to go!