nork
Fish Fanatic
Good evening to us stateside, good early morning to you across the puddle.
I'm still in the process of cycling, but I have everything setup and ready to go, except the lighting.
Right now we're using the stock hood that was included with our tank ensamble, which houses 2 18" fluoro bulbs. I'm not sure which type of bulbs these are, I imagine they're generic brand 6500K'ish lights, I haven't pulled them out to look yet.
I've been researching a lot of lighting options lately, and eventually I'd like to get a brand new hood and light setup, but for now, I'll have to stick with the stock and do the most cost efficient lighting upgrade, which is simply replacing the bulbs.
Our tank will house African Cichlids, and right now we have 4 live anubias plants.
I've been seeing the actinic bulbs, and a lot of people seem to suggest these for cichlids in combination with 7000K (give or take a few hundred Ks) spectrum bulb.
Since I only have 2 fixtures for lights at the moment, would I be best off getting 2 50/50s, or should I get 1 100% actinic light and another 7000K bulb better suited for my plants?
If I go the latter route, would doing one side actinic and another a daylight spectrum bulb make our tank look half blue and half white?
I want lighting that's perfect for 3 things.. 1. The health of the fish, 2. The health of the plants, and 3. Our visual pleasure (we want all the colors of the tank to "pop", I'm afraid if I do 1 bulb actinic and the other daylight, the left side of our tank will be blue while the other side is bright white, we do not want this.)
What type of lighting would you suggest to satisfy this 3 part checklist for us?
I'm still in the process of cycling, but I have everything setup and ready to go, except the lighting.
Right now we're using the stock hood that was included with our tank ensamble, which houses 2 18" fluoro bulbs. I'm not sure which type of bulbs these are, I imagine they're generic brand 6500K'ish lights, I haven't pulled them out to look yet.
I've been researching a lot of lighting options lately, and eventually I'd like to get a brand new hood and light setup, but for now, I'll have to stick with the stock and do the most cost efficient lighting upgrade, which is simply replacing the bulbs.
Our tank will house African Cichlids, and right now we have 4 live anubias plants.
I've been seeing the actinic bulbs, and a lot of people seem to suggest these for cichlids in combination with 7000K (give or take a few hundred Ks) spectrum bulb.
Since I only have 2 fixtures for lights at the moment, would I be best off getting 2 50/50s, or should I get 1 100% actinic light and another 7000K bulb better suited for my plants?
If I go the latter route, would doing one side actinic and another a daylight spectrum bulb make our tank look half blue and half white?
I want lighting that's perfect for 3 things.. 1. The health of the fish, 2. The health of the plants, and 3. Our visual pleasure (we want all the colors of the tank to "pop", I'm afraid if I do 1 bulb actinic and the other daylight, the left side of our tank will be blue while the other side is bright white, we do not want this.)
What type of lighting would you suggest to satisfy this 3 part checklist for us?