By George I think he's got it :eek:

That's what I was afraid of. Could I get away with adding more of the same bulbs I now have or do I need something else, different spectrum maybe. I swore I wouldn't buy myself any lights that would allow be to even consider trying some of the pricey corals, I don't want to get into the expensive side of the hobby. Besides, I'm a fish guy.
So considering I'm a DIYer and will be building a new tank and hood soon, what would you add or change about the lighting? I can't be far off, it took a long time for the polyps to fade completely, and they still behave healthy.

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If you try swapping your 27 watt bulbs whatever they are for a pair of 10000k coralifes you should notice a difference in the short term. This is probly the minimum that can be done.

What size tank and hood are you building? Do you want to upgrade the 55 as well? Can't keep my own projects straight, much less yours...

:biggrin:

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who are you talking to?

AJ - I'm building a larger tank but it will be for fish, the current 55 will be the semi-reef, so it will be the one requiring more lighting. I would desribe my whole plan for new tank / stand etc but I'm not quite ready for all the Q & A that will accompany that. Stay tuned for those details within the next few months.

Danny - I'm pretty sure the lights I have now are coralifes, guess I need more than that.

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:lol: - the other guy...

You could fit 4x55W PC bulbs over a 55g, doesn't it have a 48x12" footprint? (The straight-pin 55 bulbs have really good punch, IME.) That would give you enough lighting for a bunch of different stuff, but not the high-demand (expensive) stuff. :biggrin:

I have something similar over my 50. You just have to learn to live within your means, so to speak, as far as what you can keep.

I hate to tell you this, but the lights are the expencive side of the hobby.I agree with AJ,about the pc's,you can keep alot of different corals with them.J&L has 4x65w fixture for about $300 plus shipping.or you can buy a retro fit for about $550.Go figure the do it your self kit is $250 more than the factory made light :question: :confused: never figure that one out.

So I guess I should be on the lookout for someone upgrading from decent to high quality lighting looking to sell off their outdated equipment. I'll keep my eyes on the buy / sell board.

Living within my means as far as corals goes shouldn't be too difficult. I actually want to keep the critters that inhabitat a reef (mandarins, inverts, cucumbers, CB butterfly) more than the stationary stuff. Be nice to have some corals besides mushrooms for them to live amongst though.

Ya the buy/sell board has some good deals if your not in a hurry,and can wait for what you want.I see you want a Mandarin,very cool fish,reminds me of my older brothers who were hippies when I was a kid :smile: You might want to think twice about keeping one though.Some people luck-out and find one that eats store bought food but most won't .They eat the infauna (bugs) in the sand bed and rocks and need a large tank because of this.You can set up a refugium with a smaller tank that will supply your main tank with bugs,but by the sounds of it this is more than your planning on. :smile: until you become addicted :mrgreen: