t5's on a 225gal? help?

[labragg1]

Ok--here's my current setup.

225gal acrylic tank 60x36x24 with open-top canopy

I currently have 2 400w Mh's running on electronic ballasts.
Reflectors are Lumenarc 3's with the a/c option.
The LA3's give awesome coverage and I really don't have any low-light areas.

Using 14k Hamilton bulbs as I like a whitish/blue look--can't stand yellow.

Things look great--but I'm not crazy about the electric consumption so i have been looking at ways to further reduce my electric bill.

Also I am running a mostly mixed tank of softies and lps. I was originally planning to have a few sps--but have since decided to at least not go that route for the most part. I may try a few of the easier to keep sps's in the future--but mainly stick with sps and softies as they seem to really thrive in this tank.

So--I was contemplating yanking the mh's and going with t5's mainly for the lower power consumption and also heat.

Heat's really not a huge issue as the a/c options on the LA3's really keep them fairly cool--but I wasn't sure how t5's compare in terms of heat?

Ok--give it to me straight!!! I want any and all opinions on this.

What would you recommend?
I was thinking a 6 or 8-bulb t5 setup--would that be enough?

I have an open-top canopy and space is not an issue--so I would prefer going with a retro kit to save a few $.

Oh--and I do have a clam and plan on a few more if that makes a difference.

Thanks

[labragg1]

Here's my current lighting when I was building the system:



Here's a recent photo after system had been running awhile:




As you can see I made the canopy large to accomodate just about any form of lighting combination--also tall enough that I can raise or lower lighting if needed.