Is this a good light?

It should support softies, and lps. If you are going to put corals in use reef crystals salt. Can order it for $50 from drsfosterandsmith.com.
My first tank i made the mistake of using oceanic salt and it was not good for corals. even the easy stuff would die! just the biggest thing i have learned is to use a good salt mix.

 

i have already put oceanic salt in there. What should i do?

 

I have this light, check out my tank.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/20-gallon-display-updates-134999.html

 

Ah! yea, i wouldnt add any corals then. Mine would not grow in it. Do you have anything in the tank yet? If not get reefcrystals and do a 100% wc. haha

If you already have fish in the tank, i would start doing 10% water changes every other week. This will mix the 2 salts, and not shock the fish.

Oceanic is really a terrible salt if you want any kind of coral. It is fine for fish only tho.

 

ok thanks

 

Advantage for T5 : :lower up front cost
Disadvantage for T5: 1)Change bulb every 7-10months to keep the right spectrum
Can you not change bulb? Yes, but which means your tank would start getting more and more unwanted algae due to the wrong spectrum of the light and less and less coral growth.
2) Less option in coral. I am sure you said that you are not looking to keep advance coral. However, everyone knows that the moment you are into this hobbit, its hard to pull yourself back from getting better coral. My personal exp is that, I would get the biggest tank I am able to get and get the best equipment I can possibily get so I won't need to waste more money for upgrade in the future.

Advantage for LED :
1) No changing bulbs for up to 10 years depend on the quality of the light and amount of hour the light is on.
2) Better coloration
3) more choice of keeping coral.

Disadvantage of LED:
1)More expensive than more fixture up front.
2)Most LED fixtures are smaller and light are redirect by lenses not reflector. You might have some shadow area for your tank if you place a small fixture over a much longer tank.

 

ok thanks. I know this is not my last tank because i am still in college so i want to get used to things so when i do get my final tank later down the road i will know the ins and outs.

 

It's your choice, but you will keep finding more and more corals (and clams) that you want but can't have because of your lighting. Trust me, I have first hand experience with that I wish I went with the reefbreeders unit.

You could probably keep some softies and some low light LPS's with the 2 bulb T5 unit.