I'm thinking I may take this guy back and try to trade for another then, because I can't really afford a new light fixture right now...... What type of nem would work well in this light?!?! I also like the carpet anemones..... Would those work any better?
On a 55 you would need 2 led pods as they are typically 4' long. A good indication your lighting isn't enough is the fact your brain (which looks awesome btw) is up on rock and happy. Typically you want them on the sand as they are a lower light LPS coral. Once you have sufficient light for an anemone you will the brain on the sand and need to acclimate it to the new lights especially if you go led. LEDs don't look as bright as t5 but they are much more powerful and can easily burn coral.
That's really true. Except I think LEDS appear to be brighter then T5.
LEDs aren't 'brighter', they just penetrate water better than bulbed units do. In terms of strength, they have a scale just like bulbed units do...that's why we roughly look for between 2-3 watts per diode for coral that require high intensity lighting and why the Marineland 'reef' LED unit isn't exactly reef lighting...though some low light softies can be supported.