How do you get that dappled light / deep water look? I currently have two 48" fl. tubes about 3-4 inches off the water surface. Would raising them up higher do anything?
How do you get that "dappled light" look?
- Thread starter Paullywolly
- Start date
Paullywolly;1518536; said:
Instead of light spread out across 48" you need a pinpoint of light. Something like a spot light placed in the center of the tank would give you the desired effect. Oh, and you need to ripple the surface of your water. It's the intense spot of light refracting through the ripples that gives you the dappled look.
As stated above you need a pinpoint type lighting and surface aggitation. A light such as this will give you the desired effect. http://cgi.ebay.com/PowerBrite-Dual...ryZ46314QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Ok thanks very much. I'm a DIY type (read: cheap!), so I'm going to check out Home Depot today to see if there's anything there that would be similar. I was thinking about using 1 or 2 pot lights, although I know they produce a lot of heat (there's a lot of air space under the hood, so it might work...).
Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the tips!
Well, I did it 
Fluorescent tubes out, a 3-light xenon strip in! Looks very cool, like a lake seen through a scuba mask! I love it! and the overall light levels are much much lower, so the fish are happier (pike especially), and there are neat shadows everywhere. My green severum looks a little washed out, so tomorrow I'm going to look for either a brighter / whiter bulb for a couple of the fixtures.
Anyways, thanks for the suggestions! Worked like charm!
Fluorescent tubes out, a 3-light xenon strip in! Looks very cool, like a lake seen through a scuba mask! I love it! and the overall light levels are much much lower, so the fish are happier (pike especially), and there are neat shadows everywhere. My green severum looks a little washed out, so tomorrow I'm going to look for either a brighter / whiter bulb for a couple of the fixtures.Anyways, thanks for the suggestions! Worked like charm!
Took a while for a pic, but here's the tank now... A before pic would've helped, but I didn't think to do it. I still want to add some java fern and anubias and some more rocks, and clean up the tubing, but you get the idea of the lighting.
