Lighting suggestions

**eDavid** · 02-25-2013, 07:00 PM

I have a 125 6ft long tank, and I'd like to move from basic lighting to something that will really make the colors pop. I have mbuna, lots of blues. Do I go with LED? UIf so can you recommend something that will work but hopefully not break the bank? I tried ebay, but there were so many styles I was lost.

**ddavis1979** · 02-25-2013, 07:39 PM

6 foot is very long, does it have a hood or a fixture with set bulb size right now?

I am a big fan of the 6700K T5 HO flourescent bulbs, but I am not sure what kind of fixture you are working with. If you could split and do two 30" fixtures both with dual T5 bulbs and do one 6700K and one color max in each fixture, I think its a pretty good setup.

**eDavid** · 02-25-2013, 08:11 PM

I've just got the most basic petco floating 36inch floating lights. I realize I probably need 2, that's not a problem. Can you clarify your answer a bit, I'm pretty novice at any lighting lingo :)

**ddavis1979** · 02-26-2013, 01:47 AM

Google is your friend!

I am not familiar with 36" floating lights....a picture is worth 1000 words. A 6' tank is huge, I mean they do make 72" fixtures, but they are super expensive. If you can fit two 30" - 36" then that would save you money.

Flourscent lights come in lots of sizes and colors.
they have all your standard lengths, 24"/30"/36"/48" etc

They also have different widths, the most common are T5 HO (thin but high output) and your T8 - thicker bulb.

Light also comes in colors measured on the Kelvin scale. You basin hardware store soft white light bulb is 2700K, 3200K has a lot of red in it which will make for vivid colors but poor plant growth. 4100K is cooler blue light bulb, 5500K is morning sun, 6700K is mid-day sun (i find this to be the best bulb), 10,000K is fullspectrum (i find algae growth gets out of hand with 10,000K), and there are a handful of lights above 10,000 which are for salt water aquarium lighting for live rock.

A dual t5 fixture holds two t5 light bulbs, and I find blending the 6700K and the 3200K will maximize color and help plants. In a tank your size, two 36" dual fixtures would be perfect. But its all subjective.

**eDavid** · 02-28-2013, 03:44 PM

Which do you think is better? http://www.aquatraders.com/BeamsWork...TR-p/56277.htm or http://www.aquatraders.com/BeamsWork...TR-p/56289.htm ?

**ddavis1979** · 02-28-2013, 03:52 PM

If I had to choose, I would choose the
BeamsWork 0.2W Hex 72" HI LUMEN LED Light Fixture (TR)

But both of these seem to be geared towards salt water, and I think you may do battle with algae.

**KevinVA** · 02-28-2013, 05:09 PM

Here's your key that it's a saltwater fixture:

320x 10,000K LED
80x Actinic 460nm LED

10,000k is going to be too much imo. You don't need the full spectrum - it's unnaturally bright, anyway. Actinic is a marine-specific bulb. It's a blue light, which penetrates furthest in the water. You will have algae problems if you go with those bulbs for a freshwater, planted aquarium. I've no doubt.

You're probably going to want to go the 6,500k route, and with your size tank, you're going to need some stronger lights, so a higher rated LED fixture or T5 HO bulbs are your best bet. Of course, a lot depends on the types of plants you want to grow, and whether you want fast growth, moderate or slow. You don't HAVE to have high light to have plant growth. You need a balance between light, co2 & nutrients.

**eDavid** · 02-28-2013, 05:18 PM

Is there a particular product/link you recommend?

**KevinVA** · 02-28-2013, 09:12 PM

I've been very pleased with the Odyssea T5HO light fixtures. You'll probably hear some naysayers, because they're less expensive, but they do the job and look nice doing it. This seller has great prices, sells replacement bulbs and I've personally purchased three fixtures and one replacement bulb from him. Very reliable.

You could do two dual-bulb 36" fixtures or one dual-bulb 72" fixture. For more lighting, you could double that up to quald-bulb fixtures, or get crazy w/ two dual-bulb 72" fixtures. Four dual-bulb 36" fixtures is a little over the top, though. ;P

**genocidex** · 02-28-2013, 09:18 PM

since these are mbunas, i think you might want to go with nothing stronger than the t5no's if i recall they do have sensitive eyes and the jump from a basic hood (im guessing t8 at best) to a t5ho set up (dual at that...) might cause them to be VERY shy. if you dont mind me asking, what kind of budget are you looking at?