Maybe upgrading from CF to T5...questions

[JustinF]

I bought a used 55 gallon tank setup and it came with a 48" Coralife fixture that has 2 24" 10000k and 2 24" actinic compact fluorescent lights. Basically it is this:

Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight With 2-65W Actinic / 2-65W 10,000K Lamp Straight Pin Base

I'm looking to upgrade to T5's and am wondering if a dual setup would be equivalent. Basically, are 2 24" 10000k CFs equal to one 48" T5 10000k, and two 24" actinic CFs equal to one 48" T5 actinic? Something like this:

48 Inch Coralife Aqualight Dual T5 Lamp High Output Fixture


Oh, I have fish, live rock, and some soft corals. They all seem to be doing okay but have heard that T5's will probably provide better lighting to my corals. (sorry, I'm very new to this)

 

[AquaRick]

TBH i haven't used CF except as a sump light. A two bulb T5 light should be fine for the basic soft corals (zoas & shrooms etc). As always, the more bulbs the better, but it's up to you and what you want to keep.

 

[JustinF]

Thanks. I've got some zoas, anthelia, xenia, starburst polyps, frogspawn...I think that's it. I don't plan on getting any SPS corals.

In my tiny little mind I was thinking 2 24" lights (actually they're 21") would be equivalent to one full-length 48", but I didn't know if that theory holds true with this kind of lighting. What I don't want to have happen is I buy something with less lighting than what I have and all my stuff dies.

 

[JustinF]

Decided to go with a 4 bulb setup. Should be here in a couple days. Figured I shouldn't be too cheap.

 

[AquaRick]

Very nice. 4 bulb is a decent light. Have you thought of which bulbs you want to use?

 

[JustinF]

Very nice. 4 bulb is a decent light. Have you thought of which bulbs you want to use?

Well, I guess I hadn't given much thought to it. It's the Coralife high output T5 lunar fixture -- it comes with two 10000K and 2 Actinic lights already. What kind of bulbs _should_ I be thinking about? What else is there?

 

[AquaRick]

ATI makes some great bulbs. Look into the aquablue special ( a daylight with a light blue color). For actinics I'd go with blue +'s. Made by ATI as well.