Best Light for 55-Gallon Long?

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SilverArowanaBoi

Redtail Catfish
MFK Member
Sep 21, 2023
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Hey y'all! I've wanted to change my lighting situation for a long time in my tank, and I don't know what kind of light to get. I currently have ridiculously bright lights that cause algae to bloom like crazy (I have to wipe it off the glass every few days), and I want something that can dim. I also have lids for the tank that the lights are connected to.

I don't have a wide budget parameter, so I want something affordable (under 30 dollars per light preferably); I'm not looking for super fancy high tech $1,000 lights. I need something I can dim and maybe have a timer or a few other bonuses like color-changing lights etc.
 
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The nicrew lights are a really good budget light. They aren’t as customizable as others but do a great job otherwise. My personal favorite is the fluval aquasky, but those are more pricey.
 
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Yeah, I looked up the nicrew lights and they are perfect...I have to save another $50, which I will soon get from a music gig the weekend after next ;).

Also, could I ditch my lids for my tank if I get fish that won't jump out? Like Blood parrots and catfish? The nicrew lights can't fit my lids...
 
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I would never keep an open top - too risky. Anything can jump if it wants too. My bp actually has jumped before, while feeding he got excited and went right out the tank onto the floor.
You can fashion a hood out of egg crate, which is pretty cheap and does the job. It makes a cool lighting effect when the light shines through.
Glass hoods aren’t too expensive either.
I assume your tank has the standard hood that holds the fluorescent light tubes?
 
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Deadeye said:
I would never keep an open top - too risky. Anything can jump if it wants too. My bp actually has jumped before, while feeding he got excited and went right out the tank onto the floor.
You can fashion a hood out of egg crate, which is pretty cheap and does the job. It makes a cool lighting effect when the light shines through.
Glass hoods aren’t too expensive either.
I assume your tank has the standard hood that holds the fluorescent light tubes?
Click to expand...

Yep, my tank was a kit, and it came with the lids and fluorescent light tubes. I've gotten rid of most of the stuff that was in that kit, like the filter and heater (they were trash, the filter never kept my water clean despite me doing a ton of water changes and plenty of wiping down the glass, the heated also didn't work well).

Egg crate hood? Hmm, that sounds interesting, could you send a pic if you have one? I was thinking about a glass hood for the tank, I think it would look better, but I may be wrong. I'll do some research on hoods.
 
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I like the look of that stuff. I'm honestly particular about how the tank looks, as one of the primary purposes for my tank is to be a beautiful and clean showpiece for my bedroom.

Now, I'm not selfish and don't care about the health of the fish; the fish's health and happiness are my number 1 priority, but I also like the tank to be as neat as possible for show. As an example of how meticulous I am about caring for my fish, last night, one of my filters went out at about 9:30 CST (I was already in bed but not quite asleep), and I got up to see what was wrong. I did a little maintenance on it and got it running again; I also topped my water, which was getting low.
I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I knew the filter wasn't working, even though my other two filters were running just fine.
 
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