i also agree that halides look more like a natural reef than t-5's. i do like the shimmer better as well. i just needed a solution for an 8'x 2' tank and didn't want to use a thousand watts of halide. that would mean i had to purchase 4 pendants, 4 ballasts, and 4 bulbs, when i bought 2 hydrofarm 8 x 54 t-5 fixtures for 200 a pop and loaded them up with ati bulbs and done. 864 watts and i am getting better PAR numbers than i would have with the 250 watters, plus, the entire tank is lit. no shadows anywhere.