Best Reef Lights On A Budget

So I was thinking of upgrading my light to be able to start having coral in my tank. So what do you guys think is a good coral capable light around/under $250. My current light is the marineland double bright led. It does the job of lighting the tank but that's it really. I have a 40g breeder by the way. Thanks!

 

I'm just using a double strip Hagen t5ho 1 white 1 blue, plus leds seems to work for my 20g

 

Look at this 36" 156W (4x 39W) T5 HO Light Fixture Extendable Series. That is what I am getting.

 

You could do a single 150 watt MH light. But the T5 setups refered to earlier will work great too.

 

It really depends on what type of coral you are looking to have. IME T5's work great. I have had 3 different fixtures on my tank. I started with a coralife 2 bulb fixture, which worked pretty good with my corals. I then decided to upgrade to 6 bulbs (a corallife 2 bulb fixture and an oddysea 4 bulb fixture), and my SPS loved it. They colored up much more. Then the stupid coralife broke. My SPS hated it. Nothing else minded. I lost my red planet. So then I decided to get a new 2 bulb fixture. I got it from fish need it. It has been working great for a few months now. SPS have come back. I have a 37g tall, which I believe is 4 inches taller than yours.

T5's are also a great in that you can change the color of your tank with different bulb combinations. I recommend the ATI bulbs! If you are planning on going with T5's here is a thread with different bulb combo's - and how they actually look.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/t5-aquarium-lighting/t5-bulb-combinations-w-pictures-59447.html

 

Just ordered Odyssea T5 Aquarium Lighting for my 40b, i should have recieved it today but because i put the wrong adress(yes it was my fault lol) i will pick it up tomorrow. its better than the one that sticksmith23(no offence) is getting because it has a timer included that can control 3 things independantly (led's, and 2bulbs, and the other two) plus it comes with stand legs. I can let you know how it is tomorrow if you want?

 

Don't leave those night lights on all night like I did! It caused excessive algae growth. I know I know, lights don't cause algae growth, nutrients in the tank do.. But lights can make things worse than they are!!

 

post some pics when you get it in.

 

i got them in today, and i have to say i am very impressed. the quality of the fixture is fantastic for $105. sadly my phone messed up and i cannot take pics until i get it back, should be back by monday. anyways the fixture is well built and the timer is very simple and easy to use. you can control the leds, and 2 bulbs seprately. they are each on thier own intervals but you can only program one on and one off time for each. fits perfectly for me. if you have any specific questions let me know.

 

I think I might actually have to get that same fixture lol. Better then the one that I posted earlier for you.