It is a 20 gallon High tank. Yes, it is T8 50/50 18" from Coralife.Need more info...
What size tank?
What type of light is it? I am guessing either a T8 florescent or a power compact florescent.
What type of light would be good for coral, and fish that would show the color of my fish, and the coral growth and color as well? My current set up only allows one 18" bulb.Yeah...even on a small tank like that, you're going to be pretty limited. Mushroom corals, softies, maybe some zoanthids, and/ or some non-photosynthetic corals.
I know my current set up isn't great, and I do plan on upgrading to those options in a few months, but for now I wanted to know what could get me by until then?You'd need a whole new setup. Check ebay for Evergrow Reef LED fixtures. You can find something that'll work for under $100. If you want something with better spectrum and an excellent warantee service, reefbreeders is good.
https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/reef-breeders-value-led-fixtures/
Last question for this thread: Where can I find a list/website that labels coral that would work with my current setup? And more importantly; what would survive when I do upgrade to quality LED setup?I keep getting email from this thread saying there are new posts, but then there an't any new ones. You HAVE to stick with a t8 bulb with your current fixture, you cannot make it better by simply putting in a T5-HO bulb. It's a completely different pin arrangement, and requires different electronics to light it up.
There is nothing you can do to that fixture to make it better for coral. Either upgrade, or try to squeek by with really low light corals.