What can I add to make my corals look better?

Hey everybody.

So. I have a 40 gallon breeder. Its only about a month old, and I have one clown and a few coral frags. Right now, I'm using a dual T5 fixture (one actinic, one 10K). My corals look good, and have shown noticeable growth during the time I've had them. My tank is pretty shallow (16 in). Although, I know my corals aren't as bright as they could be.. I got the fixture along with the tank and most all my other equipment from a craigslist seller as a package deal. I want to add a little boost to my lighting. I don't really feel like a whole new lighting system is necessary though, nor do I have the cash for it lol. I've been researching a few different options I could go with, like an LED strip or replacing my 10k with a 12k or 14k. What do yall think my best route would be? (for the price and effectiveness)

Thanks for any responses

 

You could replace the 10k with a Aquablue Special, and the actinic with a 420nm actinic..I had the same thing but it was 4 bulb..I had pretty decent color..

 

I'd say replace the bulbs with ATI Aquablue Special and ATI Blue Plus. If you go with a LED strip get a 50/50 mix of white and blue LED.

 

Thanks guys, I'll most likely upgrade to those 12k. It just makes sense seeing that I have the fixture to do it ya know haha.. I'm prettyy sure my actinic bulb is 420nm, I'll have to double check on that though.

2in10 - Do you have any LED strip brand recommendations?

 

In all honesty, a 4 bulb setup will suit that tank much better.

If you stay with the 2 bulb setup, I'd recommend also the ATI Aquablue Special and ATI Blue Plus.

 

Lol yeah I know, I just don't have the money to buy a whole new system like that.. I'm a broke college student with a crappy job But as soon as I have a spare $300 lying around, I'll get one haha. BUT I do have the money to buy new bulbs I just ordered the ATI bulb yall recommended, the aquablue special. I'll let yall know how it looks once it comes in next week.

I'm still not done upgrading though.. I don't have any experience retrofitting, but I'm going to do some research, and see if I think I can pull it off. My fixture has more than enough room to add at least 2 bulbs..

BoostLED - What do you think, would it better to add a few more T5s or an LED strip or 2?

 

i just started using chromaplex..its coral food thats supposed to have a natural color enhancer, the bottle says makes certain colors brighter..

i have noticed my green acro more lime green, but it could be from the powermodule fixture i just got too..

but i have noticed some brighter colors under actnics for sure...im gonna try another bottle after this one just too make sure..im pleased with it, feeds 5-250 micron..

 

If money was tight and you already have a T5 fixture, I'd choose the best way to insure that I can provide good light coverage in my tank and still keep food on the table!

I'd probably opt for 2 more T5's unless the cost putting in two more T5's cost just as much or more than a high quality LED strip. You really don't want just a "supplemental LED" strip since your two T5's are insufficient to light up that setup to begin with.

 

I'll have to give that coral food a try, all I use is phytoplankton at the moment.

I'm going to do some research on prices, but I think I agree with you. Initially when I got the fixture I planned on adding 2 more bulbs. Is there any retrofit kits yall can recommend?

 

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