Just looking to add "Shimmer"

[boatguy]

Hi I am new here. I have been putting my tank together from craigs list & etc. (6 mos old) Anyway, my lighting on 72" 125 gal is a total of 12 T5's in a current light fixture. I think it is adequate for my tank but I have no shimmer effect. The budget office (my wife) has cut funding on me I have been nosing around at local stores trying to find some high kelvin over the counter LED lights but can only find 3000 K . I am afraid this will make everything yellow. I am also not sure how much to get. I have moon lights from an old fixture and they work great with other lights off. Just plain lost at sea for the answer on the cheap. I have a mixed bag of fish, zoas, kenya, xenia and other frags.
Thanks

[Wolfmann81]

Boatguy - that actually sounds like an excellent setup (12 T5's over a 125g long!), so I don't think you need to add any additional supplemental lighting.

I would do a couple of things.

One - water quality. Water changes (and possibly adding carbon to 'clean' the look of your water) is critical to maintain quality water. By doing this, your water will be cleaner (and help elimininate the buildup of phosphates and nitrates which algae feeds on) which should add to a more-'shimmering' effect on the water.

Two - Consult with someone on what they would look to have on your T5 setup. You have a lot of options. There are a lot of bulbs for T5's out there, and someone here (or a place like MarineDepot, Reefgeek, etc) can let you know what bulbs you should have on your setup to maximize efficiency for visual effect on your water, corals, etc. T5 bulbs should be replaced every 18 months or so, so it is possible that your bulbs (that you got from someone else) are quite old and their lighting spectrum has transitioned and that is why you are less satisfied with the look of them. In my opinion, you do not need to add any more lighting options (LED's, etc), but just look to change bulbs and keep up with water changes.

Hope this helps,