DIY lighting choices...

[Scott_S]

Hi All,

I'm nearly done with my DIY clear acrylic cover for my 30G, and I've been pondering the lighting thing for awhile now. I need some input as to # of bulbs, lengths, bulb type, etc. Fluorescents in "shop light" fixture(s) are the way I'm gonna go, but the combinations are what's giving me a brain-fizzle...

My tank is full of small tetras... Neons, Cardinals, Black Neons, and I don't want to overdose them with light, they seem more at-ease with subdued lighting, but I've finally got the craving to get some real plants going (easy, low-light-types for starters).

I'm hoping to strike a compromise, with priority on the fishes well-being.

I can't seem to decide on...

T5 or T8 sized bulbs? (selection of bulbs better/worse?)

1-bulb or 2-bulb fixture ?

36" long fixture (length of my tank), or maybe a 24" and ~12" side-by-side to allow for a "brighter" side using different wattage bulbs? (A weird idea, maybe...)


If I can get away with using standard bulbs, due to the obvious price difference, that would be nice, but I want to have the option of using Aqua-glow/Coralife bulbs if I need to in the future.

If anyone can make some sense out of this post and chime in with their recommendations, my fishes and I would be forever grateful... :c10:

Thanks in advance...

[Billythefish]

I'd go with 2 bulb setup.. One mar-blue and one standard u.v both 25watt and 24'' it looks nice on neon tanks ive seen, as far as plants go im no help at all sorry

[Evil Slimy]

I would get about 60w of fluorescent lighting over the full 36 inches and create a dimmer area of the tank using floating plants or densely planted areas. At 2wpg you have a lot of options for what plants to grow and a 30g is still small enough to let you dose seachem excel or setup diy co2 for really healthy growth.
*edit* I would avoid marine lights. On planted tanks where you are fertilizing, they seem to do nothing but favor thread algae of doom.

[reef12]

Okay when you say clear do you mean the top is clear?

Not a good idea if so.

Should be a dark color to radiate light back into tank not all around and up.

But if not then disregard this post.:11:

Yes the fish like dark most do some don't.

But always have floating plants that can diffuse the light and look real killer with some driftwood in the tank as well.

I once when in Alabama had some pond lilies that I got from the local ponds and looked killer and the Piranhas loved them.

[Boertjie]

I would use a normal T5, warm white lamp of 3000K switched on for about an hour followed by a 6500K colour, T5 full spectrum lamp as second stage. More green and blue will reach the bottom than reds and yellows. Your plants will appreciate that and the colors of the fish will be enhanced.
It will seem that there is less light in your tank than there actually is.
In contrast, the red – yellow – green color creates the impression of more light in your tank.
If you want to simmulate the midday sun, you should use a 5500K lamp and before swithing your lights off use stage one again.
By staging your lights you reduce the stress on the fish.

An incandescent lamp should be used only in emergency cases because the light produced by this type of lamp is continuous and is biased to the red-yellow end the light almost lacks the blue region, which is essential for most plants. The plants cannot grow happily with this kind of light but algae will flourish!

That is my humble opinion.

Hope this will help.

[Scott_S]

Thanks for the replies, all.

In response...


Okay when you say clear do you mean the top is clear? ...

It's a clear acrylic cover (hood) for the aquarium that I made, not a cover for the light itself, though I do plan on doing some type of enclosure for a shop-light fixture, if that's the way I end up going, so as the fixture itself wont be just sitting on the top of the aquarium with bulbs vulnerable. This would have some reflective material included. :)



...I would use a normal T5, warm white lamp of 3000K switched on for about an hour followed by a 6500K colour, T5 full spectrum lamp as second stage...

That's the way I think I'm gonna go. There's a 36" fixture that houses two bulbs, but they aren't independently switchable, unless I somehow hacked it to be, otherwise I'd have to get two single fixtures, unless I get some aquarium-specific fixture with this functionality.I'm sure this probably exists, but I'm betting it would be rather pricey, and I don't want too go to crazy with the $.

I'm gonna poke around on eBay for the heck of it...

Thanks again for the replies... :)

[Dave-id]

You've gotten good replies here, but I had some small clarification to add with regards to:


T5 or T8 sized bulbs? (selection of bulbs better/worse?)

Basically what it boils down to is that T5s will cost you a bit more, but will run cooler / use less electricity, and produce a bit more light than the T8s. Selection of bulbs is a whole other chapter, but the most recent poster gave you some good insight.

Also, somebody mentioned 60 Watts. That depends on your version of "simple plants". You could get by with less light if you're only growing things like Java Fern, mosses, Anubias, Vals etc.

[Dave-id]

There's a 36" fixture that houses two bulbs, but they aren't independently switchable, unless I somehow hacked it to be
Btw, this may be quite difficult. Most ballasts designed for two bulbs will not run properly with only a single bulb. A lot of the electronic ones are fine, but I expect you've got your eyes on the cheaper models.