mh/t5 combo hood for 72" tank

[bigfruits]

my roomate just purchased a 210 gallon aquarium. this tank is 72x24x29H

im helping him find a mh hood for this tank. he wants to go for 250watt bulbs with a 4 inch sand bed so the lowest coral would be 25 inches deep. this will be a mixed reef.

are the aquactinic mh/t5 combos a good deal? how about the maristars? Aquamedic? he doesnt want buy a retro kit so im not sure what brands to suggest to him. any input is appreciated.

thanks
-z

[bigfruits]

^

[bigfruits]

^

[old salty]

I did a lot of research on lighting fixtures for my 72" tank. In the end, I really wasn't too impressed with any of them; well not enough to buy them. Either they were too expensive, stuffed with the lowest quality parts, or a combination of both. I went with T5's but if I ever decide to go MH's on my tank, I would make my own canopy and retrofit the lighting. This allows you to use the best components you can while costing about the same as a fixture with garbage components.

If money were no concern (and it is) I would have gone with a Giessmann fixture.

[bigfruits]

ive tried to get him to build a canopy. he already has two bulbs, reflectors and one ballast. all he needs is a vho retro, a metal halide bulb and a dual ballast. i think hes going to buy the maristar tomorrow. prob from reefgeek or seeds etc...

[black9ice]

I purchased the Maristar without the ballast. Even though my install is behind a wall I figured it offered the best and easiest solution for me. I had the pendants and all, but I just didn't want to deal with all the clutter.

One huge fixture looks so much better. I got mine drop shipped from Sunlight from custom aquatics, they seemed to have the best price.