Hi Matt, Oh boy, a lighting question; I like lighting questions!!! You asked several excellent questions, here <http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/25638-t5-t5ho-vs-compact-fluores cent-power.html> is where I started when researching different lighting options for my aquariums. It is a pretty good summary of the key points of the different bulb types. Roy _______________________________________________ GSAS-Member mailing list GSAS-Member@thekrib.com http://lists.thekrib.com/mailman/listinfo/gsas-member