Fish only Lights Fresh Water.

[nfored]

So I have been blessed enough to be get a larger tank, despite setbacks in feb/march. 84x24x30

Because this tank is 7' instead of 8' I am having trouble finding lights. I didn't want to buy 3 sets of 24" lights due to to many plugins, then I thought I could buy a quad 4' lamp and place it in the center of the tank.

My question is with a Fish Only FW does the type and color of light matter? could I maybe use halogen or some other typ of light for this. The reason I ask is I can setup some type of track light setup using other types of lights and only have 1 or 2 plugins.


If any one has a tank like this can they gice me udeas on the type of lighting used.

The only sad thing is I can buy the tank in feb/march but cant set it up til around july. I have a used 55 gallon I have turnd in to a wetdry, but I am still in need of about 160LBs of sand and a stand.

 

[ShipOfFools37]

I'm not sure of your set up, but I believe several people on this forum use shop lights suspended from the cieling for their tanks. I'm in a rental apartment, so thats not something I can set up currently, but from what I understand they're fairly cheap and nice and powerful for good lighting to bring out the color in your fish.

As far as a stand goes, I'd build my own. I don't have the like but if you search INDY DIY, their thread has several pictures of stands and such that are pretty cheap to make, but incredibly sturdy. I built a stand for a 38g based on some of their ideas and it only cost me 10 dollars and could easily hold a much much larger tank.

 

[nfored]

I am so dumb duh 4 foot plus 3 foot fixture, from now on I wont post after drinking.

 

[Nic]

just put a 6' light fixture on there... my buddy uses one on his 8' tank

 

[nfored]

I'm not sure of your set up, but I believe several people on this forum use shop lights suspended from the cieling for their tanks. I'm in a rental apartment, so thats not something I can set up currently, but from what I understand they're fairly cheap and nice and powerful for good lighting to bring out the color in your fish.

As far as a stand goes, I'd build my own. I don't have the like but if you search INDY DIY, their thread has several pictures of stands and such that are pretty cheap to make, but incredibly sturdy. I built a stand for a 38g based on some of their ideas and it only cost me 10 dollars and could easily hold a much much larger tank.

I had planned to build a stand but I will be strapped after geting the tank. So it will take a litte more time to get a pump for the sump plus all that sand, and some wood to build a stand.

Thanks for your idea on the shop lights, that is what I have n my planted tank how ever it was four foot so a standard light fixture fit. I was on petc's web site and saw they have 36" fixtures so I thought 36" + 48" = 7' so I can by these two fixutes and be good.

 

[nfored]

just put a 6' light fixture on there... my buddy uses one on his 8' tank

I spent an hour looking for one of those, got any links?

 

[FSM]

two 3 foot fixtures would work fine I think. You may be able to get cheap fluorescent 3 foot fixtures at Home depot or a similar place. I know they have 4 foot fixtures. The lights they come with are usually very yellow though, I think they look awful. T8 fixtures are preferable, the bulbs are thinner and more efficient.


If you want natural colored sand, buy 3 bags of pool filter sand from a pool supply store. It will probably cost about $25; they come in 50 lb bags. Play sand works too, I've never used it though and have read it is a lot harder to clean.

 

[Noto]

The light color doesn't make much difference to the fish, so long as they can see well enough to find their food they're happy. I like the way 5000K-10000K lights look, personally, but I know a lot of people like to throw in some actinics to bring out certain colors.

 

[Nic]

corallife makes them... oceanic... nova aqua... sunsystems... all light manufac have them

 

[FSM]

The light color doesn't make much difference to the fish, so long as they can see well enough to find their food they're happy. I like the way 5000K-10000K lights look, personally, but I know a lot of people like to throw in some actinics to bring out certain colors.

10,000k and up looks best IMO. I use 18,000k bulbs mostly. I also have a "marine-glo" bulb that came with a used tank, its waaaaaaaaaay too blue to be used alone.