T5 marine tubes vs commercial

[Nicmar]

A friend of mine who knows nothing about reef keeping, and is an electrician told me on my new tank I should use T5 as he can build me a cheap fixture. He said he can get any light spectrum thorugh the wholesaler for about 1/10 the cost of the marine tubes in 80w.

Is he missing that the marine tubes are High Output compared to normal output for commercial buildings?

[TimeConsumer]

T5 HO are readily available and used in commercial applications in many situations. To ensure you aren't being sold normal output just check the wattage of the bulb compared to the bulb length.