Lighting for cichla.

[Capo]

Hey,

My 4' fluro globe just broke and I'm just curious as to what I should replace it with.
This is with a single 4' t8 I think? standard fluro.

I was using I think a power glo, which is the purplish light. It was ok but wasn't really my favourite kind of light. This was on a black background, black gravel, couple of pieces of big driftwood and some plants.

I'm going to go for white sand now (not coral sand) still couple of pieces of drift wood and the occasional plant when the crabs haven't ripped them out.
I'm thinking a marine glo would bring out the colours in an Ocel???
Any other opinions???

We mostly only get aqua one here btw.

 

[hillbilly]

It's always best IMO to use subdued lighting in any kind of situation involving Amazonian species. Keep in mind these fish naturally come from stained and murky waters. They have evolved that way. Any time you put such fish in a clear water, brightly lit environment, a certain amount of stress is bound to be a factor. It is true that the fish can become accustomed to the conditions, but it is probably also true that they would be much more relaxed in a less brightly lit environment. Any type of fluorescents can be made to provide adequate lighting with a little experimentation. I currently use 2-55 watt compact fluorescents suspended 6" over my 30" deep tank. T-5s could work as well, or maybe even better, but I had these lying around. If I were going to use live plants, I would use lower light plants up higher in the tank, floating plants, or plants that could grow attached to driftwood.