I was just rambling on about the test kits.
Although I
do think you should buy a Merck instead of an Elos if you`re considering a high sensitivity phosphate kit. Merck is made by Deltec.
Hmm, well considering your bulb choices it could very well be that your corals have decent coloring, but your bulbs are not showing them to their full brilliance. Are your bulbs DE or SE? I almost always recommend Phoenix 14,000K halides. They are available both DE and SE, but SE are very difficult to find. I ordered some SE from my supplier who says he can get them, and I am interested to see if the bulbs do show up. The Phoenix bulbs are
very comparable to AquaConnect bulbs, but are a
much cheaper version! AquaConnects are about $140 each, where Phoenix are about $70. ACs are industry leaders. The ACs have slightly higher PAR, and a bit better spectrum, but visually look almost identical. Imo, not worth double the cost, but hey if money is no object - give`r!
Your fixture is essentially the same as mine, and I get enough PAR out of the halides that I consider the T5s primarily for aesthetics (color) than intensity, although I do keep in mind that I don't want to waste electricity by using low output bulbs either. Six of one, half a dozen of the other so to say. I have 3 favourite T5 bulbs for supplementals. In order of PAR: ATI BluePlus (can be difficult to find), UVL 454, UVL Super Actinic.
The UVL Super Actinic is the only straight actinic bulb I will put over my tank. Generally, actinic bulbs are purely aesthetic as there is no proof that corals use the actinic spectrum at all. Most actinic bulbs have very low output. The UVL Super Actinic is an exception - it has low PAR, but unexpectedly high PUR (photosynthetically
usable radiation).
The ATI BluePlus and the UVL 454
look almost identical in color. The ATI has slightly higher PAR (and higher price tag), but not so significant that you should really bother to spend a bunch of time and money trying to get your hands on it. The color is quite a true blue, where the Super Actinic is more of a blue-purpleish. Imo, nothing makes the colors POP like a UVL Actinic, and is worth the lower PAR.