Lighting For Fowlr Tank

[karaim]

I have a FOWLR tank and want to get new lighting.

Is there a requirement for a FOWLR tank? I like bright lights for myself. How bright would the following be?

http/www.marineandreef.com/60_inch_Compa...mpact_s/285.htm

 

[Colin_T]

Unless you have macro algae like caulerpa in the tank, you only need as much light as you want to see the fish. The fish don't care one way or another and will be fine in average room light.

The link is a bit odd stating compact fluorescent fixtures for 60inch long globes. A compact fluoro is generally a small fluoro globe that goes into the light unit in your house to replace the common light bulb.
I guess they are advertising a slimline unit for 60inch fluoro globes. If you do get that light unit then drop the 6,700K globes and just get 2 x 10,000K globes. It's kind of pointless having a 6,700 & 10,000K globes because the 10,000 produce a similar light to the 6700, but with a bit more blue light. The 10,000K will look whiter and make the water look clearer.

 

[karaim]

Unless you have macro algae like caulerpa in the tank, you only need as much light as you want to see the fish. The fish don't care one way or another and will be fine in average room light.

The link is a bit odd stating compact fluorescent fixtures for 60inch long globes. A compact fluoro is generally a small fluoro globe that goes into the light unit in your house to replace the common light bulb.
I guess they are advertising a slimline unit for 60inch fluoro globes. If you do get that light unit then drop the 6,700K globes and just get 2 x 10,000K globes. It's kind of pointless having a 6,700 & 10,000K globes because the 10,000 produce a similar light to the 6700, but with a bit more blue light. The 10,000K will look whiter and make the water look clearer.

How long should I keep the daylights on? Would it be detrimental to the fish if I kept the day lights on about 14 hours a day?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, it wouldn't be great, especially if you're extending significantly into nighttime hours with the light...

 

[karaim]

Well, it wouldn't be great, especially if you're extending significantly into nighttime hours with the light...

My fish are in my basement, where there is almost no natural light whatsoever. I get home from work at 7:00 or 8:00 PM and can watch the fish at any time before I go to bed around 1:00 AM. I don't need the lights on in the morning (and since there is no ambient light in the basement, it would be night for the fish. So what if I turn on the day lights at around 4:00 PM and turn them off around 1:00 AM. That would be 9 hours of light.

The lighting fixture I want also has dawn lights and moon lights. When should those go on? Will the moonlights bother the fish? What about the dawn lights (made up of acitinic lights I believe)?

 

[pimp4cheddar]

I'm using a regular flouresant light bulb...

I have a 30 gallon tank (FOWLR) and nothing else....

I didn't see a need to get a UV bulb or even a Actinic <---check spelling


For example...my fish are in my living room. They receive nothing but natural light from 7am until 7pm'ish...from there I turn on my T5 flouresant bulb and it makes the tank look super white and clean. It doesn't have the tint or hue of a actinic bulb but I feel like the actinic bulb aren't bright enough...


I may be wrong...so if someone wants to correct me please do....

 

[karaim]

I'm using a regular flouresant light bulb...

I have a 30 gallon tank (FOWLR) and nothing else....

I didn't see a need to get a UV bulb or even a Actinic <---check spelling


For example...my fish are in my living room. They receive nothing but natural light from 7am until 7pm'ish...from there I turn on my T5 flouresant bulb and it makes the tank look super white and clean. It doesn't have the tint or hue of a actinic bulb but I feel like the actinic bulb aren't bright enough...


I may be wrong...so if someone wants to correct me please do....

I think you're right - the acitinic (or actinic) bulbs are bluish and not bright at all, but I think their purpose is just to make the color of the light bluer. I'm not a big fan of the bluish tint, so I might just turn these off completely.

 

[Colin_T]

Actinic lights have a temperature or Kelvin (K) rating around 20,000K and is blue.
Natural sunlight is about 5,700K.
The common light globe in your house is generally around 3,000K and looks a bit yellow.

If you get globes with a temperature/ Kelvin rating between 6,000K & 10,000K you will get a nice clear light that looks white. These globes will usually have red, green & blue light, which is ideal for plants and fish. Blue light penetrates deeper water than red light.

9 hours of light is fine but you can have the lights on for up to 16hours per day. However, because it is a fish only tank 16hours is a bit of overkill. Having the lights on for about 8-9hours a day should be fine.
Have the moon lights come on about 15minutes before the main lights go out and leave them on for about 30-60 minutes.
The dawn lights should come on about 30minutes before the main lights come on in the morning. If you can control the dawn lights separately then have one come on and 30 minutes later have another one come on. Then 30minutes after that, have the main tank lights come on.
If that sounds like too much work you can simply turn the room lights on 30minutes before you turn the tank lights on. And at night turn the room lights on, then turn the tank lights off. Leave the room lights on for 30minutes before turning them off and leaving the room dark.

 

[karaim]

Actinic lights have a temperature or Kelvin (K) rating around 20,000K and is blue.
Natural sunlight is about 5,700K.
The common light globe in your house is generally around 3,000K and looks a bit yellow.

If you get globes with a temperature/ Kelvin rating between 6,000K & 10,000K you will get a nice clear light that looks white. These globes will usually have red, green & blue light, which is ideal for plants and fish. Blue light penetrates deeper water than red light.

9 hours of light is fine but you can have the lights on for up to 16hours per day. However, because it is a fish only tank 16hours is a bit of overkill. Having the lights on for about 8-9hours a day should be fine.
Have the moon lights come on about 15minutes before the main lights go out and leave them on for about 30-60 minutes.
The dawn lights should come on about 30minutes before the main lights come on in the morning. If you can control the dawn lights separately then have one come on and 30 minutes later have another one come on. Then 30minutes after that, have the main tank lights come on.
If that sounds like too much work you can simply turn the room lights on 30minutes before you turn the tank lights on. And at night turn the room lights on, then turn the tank lights off. Leave the room lights on for 30minutes before turning them off and leaving the room dark.

Thank you. How exactly do I get the dawn effect? By turning the acitinic lights on? Also, the moonlights are not kept on all night?

 

[Colin_T]

some light units have low wattage globes that get used for dawn lights. If your light unit uses actinics then they should be programmed to come on first thing in the morning (about 30minutes before the normal light come on). However, some fish freak out when the tank goes from dark to blue, (it's not an issue going from light to blue, just the other way). Once the normal lights have come on you can turn the actinics off.

Some people have a desk or bedside lamp with a 10-20watt globe, in the room. They have this on a timer and it comes on 30minutes before the tank lights come one. If possible have one main tank light come on, then the other main light/s can come on an hour after that.

Moonlights are usually turned on in the evening and go off a little while later. They are designed to let you see the fish after sunset when the fish are starting to, or have gone to bed. They should be turned off when you no longer need to go into the room with the fish tank in.

 

[SkiFletch]

So what if I turn on the day lights at around 4:00 PM and turn them off around 1:00 AM. That would be 9 hours of light.

That would be fine if they're in the basement. Fish wouldn't know the difference eventually