fluros or mh and hps

[S-Smith]

This is a good question, I have been pondering the use of t5's over a single 400w MH system, for my new orchid enclosure. I had been using a 600W HPS but I think it wasn't the right spectrum since my plants didn't seem to want to flower very much. I have read that since the t5's lumens are spread out along the bulb you don't get as much light penetration as a HID, also the HID still has better light output vs floros 400w=50k lumens I think, 515W of t5's equal this if I'm not mistaken. This is all speculation though I would love some real world results with both systems though to compare.