Fluorescent lighting

lindayu · Post by **lindayu** » 28 Nov 2004, 06:58

Can anyone suggest a fairly low-level fluorescent light.
My new tank has bogwood, hiding places etc. but I'd like to grow plants like Anubias. The fish are bristlenoses and 2 LDA33s.Thanks.

WhitePine · Post by **WhitePine** » 28 Nov 2004, 07:10

what are the dimensions of your tank? how many liters?

lindayu · Post by **lindayu** » 28 Nov 2004, 09:10

The tank is 30"x15"x12". It has actually been set up for a while in my dining room, but without lighting.
I've now bought one of the older style Marina hoods which has integral light fittings, so the tube length has to be 24". I'm looking for a make of tube that's more subdued than most, so that I can grow a few shade-tolerant plants, see the fish when they're out but not frighten them with a very bright light.

Post by **Shane** » 28 Nov 2004, 15:38

30X15X12 is about 23 US gallons. My suggestion would be to visit your local home improvement store and pick up a 24" 20 watt "plant" or "grow" light. These same tubes are sold in pet stores as "plant" tubes for about 3-5 times the price. That will give you less than one watt per gallon, which is pretty low light. At that light level, I would not try any plants except Java moss, Java fern, and maybe Anubias. The plant tubes also look less bright than the regular soft white tubes because they are warmer in their color spectrum.
-Shane

Post by **Barbie** » 28 Nov 2004, 17:44

I personally purchase the GE Ultra Daylight bulbs, along with maybe a "sunshine" bulb for my planted tanks. Sunshines are 5000k and a bit yellow looking, while the Ultra Daylights are 6500k with a bit more blue. When you combine them, it just looks nice and white and the plants grow well, IME. The lights that they recommend for "plants and aquarium lighting" are 4100k and tend to look a bit pink.

I have 192 watts of light on my corner bow tank, and my otocinclus and B. sidthimunki are out in the front of the tank at all times. Fish adjust to the amount of lighting, with no problem, (within reason) IME.

Barbie

WhitePine · Post by **WhitePine** » 30 Nov 2004, 05:37

Don't forget about the cri rating of the bulb. The hight the number the brighter it will appear. If you get a bulb with a cri rating under 80 it will seem some what dim... but the plants can still use the light to grow and you can cram a few more lights under the hood and still not have a very bright setup for your fish.

red-devil0602 · Post by **red-devil0602** » 23 Feb 2005, 13:08

here's all the details you need for cheap fluorescent lighting (moon light).
i did this on my catfish tank so that i might get to see them. this not a link to a shop so no worries, it's just a link to a fish forum with all the details and picture of how to do it. hope this helps

http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?s=0 ... opic=46380

Fluorescent lighting

Fluorescent lighting

heres all the details you need