Any advice on Lighting Help!!!! w/pic

[Famos]

I'm almost complete with my 90 gallon set up it is going to be stocked with African cichlids i need to figure out what I'm going to do for my canopy lighting. i would love to have a rich bright blueish white lights. Just dont know what the wattage to get to make that work. I saw some pics here online. These are the examples i would like to achieve. Thanks to grindel89, 408smokin garlover bitteraspects for using their pics. Thanks for you help.

 

[bcfd144]

depending on how much you are wanting to spend.. But the T5 lighting seems to be the nicest I have.. You can buy bulbs for it that have a bluish tint to them. Just check your LFS and see what they have.. then start shopping for the lowest prices.
I can tell you, I have several tanks, and if they have a single bulb, the blue at first is really really blue, but on my tanks that each fixture has two bulbs, I use a blue and a white bulb to get the affect I want.

 

[Famos]

Thanks BC i really dont want to break the bank but reasonable pricing i would say. So you saying get the fixture that have the 2 bulbs and put a blue and a white bulbs together to make it look that way? Can I go to HD or lowes to get T5 fixtures. Whats the wattage or the Kevin i think they call it should i get? i don't want to be to hot that it will grow a lot of algae. Thanks for your help

 

[SCGeordie]

Not sure if Lowes or Home Depot sell T5 fixtures, I got my Glo 36" twin T5 from Petsmart, with 2 39W 18,000K bulbs it cam to about $135. The light is fantastic but after reading BC's post above I may opt to change one of the bulbs for a 'blue' one.
Take a look at this post from the Planted Tank forum http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73446
3rd post there's a table which shows what you need based on distance from the bulb to the substrate and the type of plants (low/med/hi). After reading through this I found that the twin T5 I have is way over what I need for good plant growth, but also shows how just raising the light fixture a few inches can make a big difference (and the algae growth in the tank confirmed it........but then my Otto's are grateful!)

 

[Famos]

Thanks Sc that's some good reading. That what i was looking for is other people advice telling me about there mistake and what worked best for them.

 

[Famos]

I was reading through the thread that SC give me, but they was mostly talking about growing plant with the type of lighting. I was wondering about just fish only lighting.

 

[noyakfat]

Hi mate,

I have an 8x2x2 with Aussie natives and I use 4 x common "energy saver" bulbs in cheap, clip-on lamp fittings mounted about 45 cm above the water surface. Mine are Philips Tornado (only 12 W each) and they are 5,600 K, which is known as "cool daylight". They give a nice, subdued white light which looks similar to the tanks you've shown.

I am working a long way from home at the moment, but in about a week I'll be home and can get some pics up if you are interested.

Cheers,
Nige

 

[ar0wan]

jcardona has a site for lights at good prices, i forget
definatly recommend (2 - 4) T5NO 48" retrofit kits
6700k will give you natural yellowish light
10000k will turn moar white/blue

 

[Myarbro]

depending on how much you are wanting to spend.. But the T5 lighting seems to be the nicest I have.. You can buy bulbs for it that have a bluish tint to them. Just check your LFS and see what they have.. then start shopping for the lowest prices.
I can tell you, I have several tanks, and if they have a single bulb, the blue at first is really really blue, but on my tanks that each fixture has two bulbs, I use a blue and a white bulb to get the affect I want.

I also have 2x 2 Bilb T5's, but they are all white bulbs. Would you be willing to share a pic on this thread to show the difference in which the blue bulbs could make? I might change over.

 

[Myarbro]

3rd post there's a table which shows what you need based on distance from the bulb to the substrate and the type of plants (low/med/hi). After reading through this I found that the twin T5 I have is way over what I need for good plant growth, but also shows how just raising the light fixture a few inches can make a big difference (and the algae growth in the tank confirmed it........but then my Otto's are grateful!)

Jcardona is awesome when it comes to advice!