Need help upgrading to stronger light.

[SC350Z]

I have a 20gal Aqueon tank its 24x12x16 and the guy at the LFS said the reason last time I did a saltwater tank out of it the coral didn't thrive was because of the lighting... it has the stock hood which has a 15w T8 in it and I need to figure out what to do to get it more powerful... he said I need to change to a T5 can anyone help link some stuff and options to me as to what I should do... I just restarted the tank after a move and its going pretty good and this is the next step besides time before I can restock it.

 

[SC350Z]

Bump! Anyone?

 

[Rutrag]

You're not likely to be able to retrofit that strip light to get what you need for corals. You'll need to look into a metal halide, 4 bulb T5 HO, or good LED fixture. The LED solution looks the most expensive off the shelf, but is actually the least expensive long term between energy savings and not having to replace bulbs. There are some fixtures you can find on Amazon or EBay for around $150 or you might find used networking through Craigslist or a local reef club. My next choice on that size tank would be the T5s. Probably the least expensive new you can get through fishneedit.com.