Lighting Upgrade ?

[sooners]

(55g tank) Looking at replacing my PC lighting with 48" 216 watt Nova Extreme SLR T-5 in order to increase the variety of corals I can keep. I know there are better choices out there but most are out of my price range. Can I keep most types of coral with the new T-5 setup? I want to make sure the trade is worth the investment. Thanks.

 

[king_neptune]

Yes. T5's do everything PC does and a little better.
But if your in the mood for better variety...do MH.
A pair of 150's will light up your tank nicely(dont worry about the nay sayers...a 55 is shallow and 150's will cut deep enough just fine) Look on CL if you want to save a buck... or DIY if your handy.
Or buy new ones...which I personally cant afford either.
If you really wanna do it up like a pro have one bulb 19-20k range. And the other 12-14k. Ive seen tanks with mixed lighting and the corals really really POP out!

 

[dragonzim]

A good set of T5s with individual reflectors for each bulb will let you keep anything that you can keep with Metal Halide. The main difference is that you wont get the shimmer effect in the water with the T5s like you will with Halides. But, you also will keep the temp a lot cooler with T5.