Coral for this light

yes t5's are completely different and u would not be able to fit enough of them in your fixture to make a difference.i'm sorry but you will need at least 6 54watt t5's over your tank just for most soft corals and some low light hard corals.part of having a 90 gallon tank is about accepting you will need metal halides.

 

Your the first person i've ever heard say that. Do people agree with ziggy222 or can soft coral live in this lighting?

 

you can keep mushrooms, but others im not sure however im gravitating toward no. Lighting is one of the more expensive pieces of equipment in the hobby along with the tank itself and a protein skimmer. i wouldn't by any corals with out upgrading your lighting. you can buy a fixture for cheap on ebay, buying cheap will let you keep corals, but generally you won't like how it makes the tank look. I find its nicer just to save up and buy nice lighting, i would recommend t5's to you because if you get halide you would probably have to run a chiller. but on the bright side this will give you more time to plan your corals and give you a greater variety of corals

 

Thats a bummer. Its going to be at least 6 months until I can upgrade, but patience is key in this hobby, so i'll have to wait. Can zoas and star polyps survive in the current condition?

 

its a gonna be hit and miss but if they are right under the lights probably

 

I looked at my bulbs again and calculated just under 3 watts per gallon. How many WPG do you need for softies.

 

3-4 but its better to have 4