Tank Lighting

[Jon M]

I'm almost complete with my 125 gallon set up but need to figure out what I'm going to do for my canopy lighting.

Can you use just any old lighting for an aquarium as long as it's UV lighting? Does there need to be a specific wattage?

 

[Aqua Doctor]

Any flourecent tube fixture will do in most cases.

UV relates to a type of filteration, not visual lighting.

 

[Larz]

I've got a 180 with Home Depot shop lights and 4' flourescent blubs(daylight). You can either hang the lights from the ceiling or make a custom canopy. Just make sure their on a Ground-Fault Interupt circut.

 

[Jon M]

Okay so they don't need to be UV they need to be fluorescent.

Yeah Home Depot was sorta the idea I was tryin' to go for. See here's my custom canopy. Three lights can easily fit on the acrylic with plenty of support OR one on each
end of the tank. The supports just kind of prevent me from doing any long bar lighting like the 20" ones on my 55 gallon.

What's the ground fault circuit interrupter?

 

[idle0095]

i use a normal aquarium light from aga for my 90 gallon and i have two 48" coralife aqualights for my 300.

 

[Jon M]

i use a normal aquarium light from aga for my 90 gallon and i have two 48" coralife aqualights for my 300.

Okay but that just sounds like you have all regular aquarium lighting right? I'm trying to see what I can do about just using regular fluorescent lighting from Home Depot for my tank.

Aquarium lighting is quite costly.

 

[jcardona1]

Okay but that just sounds like you have all regular aquarium lighting right? I'm trying to see what I can do about just using regular fluorescent lighting from Home Depot for my tank.

Aquarium lighting is quite costly.

Don't get hung up on the "aquarium lighting" label. Fluorescent lighting is fluorescent lighting, whether it comes in a sleek hood with shiny reflectors made specifically for aquariums, or a cheap white metal fixture for garages and shops. The difference is when you start going with LED, T5HO, or metal halide fixtures for growing plants and corals, you won't find these at Home Depot.

There's no reason why one of those cheap shop fixtures won't work on an aquarium. Just get the fixture, find that bulb color (kelvin rating) that suit your taste, and call it a day

 

[Jon M]

Don't get hung up on the "aquarium lighting" label. Fluorescent lighting is fluorescent lighting, whether it comes in a sleek hood with shiny reflectors made specifically for aquariums, or a cheap white metal fixture for garages and shops. The difference is when you start going with LED, T5HO, or metal halide fixtures for growing plants and corals, you won't find these at Home Depot.

There's no reason why one of those cheap shop fixtures won't work on an aquarium. Just get the fixture, find that bulb color (kelvin rating) that suit your taste, and call it a day

Sounds good. That I get. I'll go find a regular shop fluorescent lamp I can get to look decent on the canopy we've made and indeed calling it a day. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[RedDwarf]

I would try to find some T5 fixtures so you can have a wider variety of light bulb options. Home Depot does sell T5 fixtures, they might cost more but I think they are well worth it.

 

[Jon M]

I would try to find some T5 fixtures so you can have a wider variety of light bulb options. Home Depot does sell T5 fixtures, they might cost more but I think they are well worth it.

I'm no light fanatic though man. As long as I can get some clear colored bulbs that light up the tank I'm fine. Plus at this point, for the time being I'm trying to just get some cheaper lighting to get my setup up and going initially. I've easily dumped over 400$ in this in the last few weeks and I'm startin' to get a bit tight coming towards the end of the project. Honestly I might tell my Dad (who's trading me his 39 gallon for my 55 gallon setup) that he's got to wait on the lighting and just prop my two 55 gallon lights up there for the time being. I would prefer if I could find say a basic florescent lamp or two for under 20$ each that I could use though.