Have a $50 gift card, trying to decide to buy

glb · Jun 14, 2017

I just got an amex gift card and want to spend it on my new 40g fowlr tank. Here are some of my ideas. I could use help prioritizing!

1. BRS single canister and carbon for chloramine removal. I have a Little Buddie RODI unit that's great but the carbon filter doesn't remove all the chloramines, only down to 1ppm in waste water. RODI water has no chloramines and TDS is zero.

2. Cheap lights. I'm not ready for coral yet, but I would like to see some coralline growing on the rocks. Would an inexpensive LED or t-5 unit make sense while I'm saving up for a nice ATI T-5 fixture. This is mainly for aesthetics. Is it a waste of money for a few years' use? Could I grow softies?

3. Fish! I'm thinking of a midas blenny, coral beauty angelfish, royal gramma basslet, or a pair of blue neon gobies. Right now I have a pair of clownfish and a pair of pajama cardinalfish. The tank has been up about 3 months and it's been two weeks since I added any fish.

4. A succulent garden for my backyard. Not fish-related, but thought I'd throw it in.

Any help is appreciated!!

Tuffyyyyy · Jun 14, 2017

Are you capped at the $50? Or do you have some on top of that? If you've got some more to spend, and you're looking to do a lighting upgrade, I'd suggest a 36" Odyssea T5 fixture. They're on Amazon for $90. They're fully programmable and will provide ample lighting while it's FOWLR. If you decide to add coral to the tank, you can take it slow and swap out one bulb per month.

Adding new fish might be the most fun option though. Not positive on the Coral Beauty's behavior, but you may want to consider completing your stocking list before throwing him in there.

glb · Jun 14, 2017

Tuffyyyyy said:
Are you capped at the $50? Or do you have some on top of that? If you've got some more to spend, and you're looking to do a lighting upgrade, I'd suggest a 36" Odyssea T5 fixture. They're on Amazon for $90. They're fully programmable and will provide ample lighting while it's FOWLR. If you decide to add coral to the tank, you can take it slow and swap out one bulb per month.

Adding new fish might be the most fun option though. Not positive on the Coral Beauty's behavior, but you may want to consider completing your stocking list before throwing him in there.

Thanks. I might be able to manage that. But you're right, fish are more fun!

glb · Jun 14, 2017

Tuffyyyyy said:
Are you capped at the $50? Or do you have some on top of that? If you've got some more to spend, and you're looking to do a lighting upgrade, I'd suggest a 36" Odyssea T5 fixture. They're on Amazon for $90. They're fully programmable and will provide ample lighting while it's FOWLR. If you decide to add coral to the tank, you can take it slow and swap out one bulb per month.

Adding new fish might be the most fun option though. Not positive on the Coral Beauty's behavior, but you may want to consider completing your stocking list before throwing him in there.

Could I grow low light corals with the two-bulb version of that light?

Tuffyyyyy · Jun 14, 2017

glb said:
Could I grow low light corals with the two-bulb version of that light?

Absolutely. But I don't know how much you'll see until you replace the lights. Also, the two-bulb fixtures I found didn't have the digital timer like the four-bulb. To each their own but it was definitely worth it to me for the extra bulbs and accurate schedule.

Here's what I would get:
https://www.amazon.com/Odyssea-Timer-Aquarium-Marine-Cichlid/dp/B01715UKKG?th=1

Grab 2 of these:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/t5-ati-coral-plus.html

and 2 of these:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/t5-ati-blue-plus.html

and you'll be able to grow anything you want. If you go with the two-bulb fixture then just get one of each of those and you'll still have a great setup.

glb · Jun 14, 2017

Tuffyyyyy said:
Absolutely. But I don't know how much you'll see until you replace the lights. Also, the two-bulb fixtures I found didn't have the digital timer like the four-bulb. To each their own but it was definitely worth it to me for the extra bulbs and accurate schedule.

Here's what I would get:
https://www.amazon.com/Odyssea-Timer-Aquarium-Marine-Cichlid/dp/B01715UKKG?th=1

Grab 2 of these:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/t5-ati-coral-plus.html

and 2 of these:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/t5-ati-blue-plus.html

and you'll be able to grow anything you want. If you go with the two-bulb fixture then just get one of each of those and you'll still have a great setup.

Thanks!!