g day MW,
about 3 months ago i bought my 8" dob from a local member and am enjoying it heaps. the galaxies and nebulae thrill me and a highlight was recently watching (very faint but observable) comet 2013 A1 siding springs near the SMC.
i have dark skies tho tropical/humid.
i found that 2x barlowing my 9mm ep (133x to 266x) was usually beyond the atmospherics so when a 6mm (200x) came up i grabbed it and it now gets used most nights on both planets and DSOs
my 9mm 100fov gets the most use with the big fov meaning less nudging/moving the 'scope for more observing.
re lunar brightness; your OTA dust cap may have a removable section like a 50mm finderscope cap, try viewing luna with the dust cap on with only that 50mm section open.
enjoy!! L