Tank Light

[victor]

I have my tank light on a timer....it comes on at 10am and goes off at 8pm.

Is there a replacement strip light available which goes from light to dark in a gradual way?...after all....the light in the tropics fades in a gradual way and I feel sure my fish are cheesed off with the light just going off all of a sudden.....just like being back in the Army.....RIGHT YOU LOT...LIGHTS OUT.....!!

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi victor, I've been thinking the same thing I want to buy a dimmer for my aquariums but haven't been able to find one yet for tube lights. I'm gonna have to check around..maybe look on the net for a place that sells them.

I thought it would be really awesome to be able to choose the type of lighting. Evening light would be so beautiful I think!!

I know what ya mean about just suddenly turning the lights off...my fish get a little spooked. I usually have on other lights in the room when I turn their tank light off so they don't get so scared. I keep those on for an hour or so then I turn them off. I make it so it's more of a gradual light change.

anyways good luck

 

[victor]

..............I usually have on other lights in the room when I turn their tank light off so they don't get so scared. I keep those on for an hour or so then I turn them off. I make it so it's more of a gradual light change.

I can tell you are a very caring person Elisabeth!!

 

[Elisabeth83]

awwww thanks

 

[Cavafish]

Gotta admit, I try to do the same as Elisabeth with the room lights. As mine are programmed to go off at 10pm this is normally during a TV programme or a film and I keep having to find excuses to turn the lights on in the room. My other half doesn't like the way I 'pander' to the fish. They do get spooked out quite bad though when the lights go out and the TV flicker is the only light in the room.

I dont think that it is possible to get a dimmer for flourescent tubes because of the way they work. What might be possible though is to get extra lights which are lower output and have these come on a few minutes before the main ones go off.

There are pictures on here of tank setups with this sort of thing - it looks really fab. Try a search.

 

[CFC]

I have 3 lights on my main tank which are all set on timers, they are a reddish colour tube, a natural light tube and a blue "moonlight" tube.
The timers are set so that in the morning the blue light comes on first at 6am followed by the red light at 7am, then the blue light goes off at 7.15am. At 10am the natural light comes on and stays on with the red tube till 6pm when it goes back off again. At 7.45pm the blue light comes back on and at 8pm the red light goes off leaving just the blue light on till 10pm when the that too goes out and leaves the tank in darkness. This simulates dawn, sunrise, midday, dusk and night time to the best of my ability and it is quite pleasing to see the fish acting as they would naturally with the nocturnal fish starting to become restless at dusk and start hading back to cover at dawn.

 

[boozybears]

CFC - that sounds awesome! What a great idea! Do you have a custom hood because I think mine only has room for one light.

Val

 

[Da_Oz]

Why not just get moonlights. They don't cost that much and are easy to install. They come on when the other lights go off.

 

[enchanted]

CFC has the right concept and it is sort of what I am intending....

I'm moving to 4x55W PC lights when I build my hood, but I also plan to build in Moonbeams and timers to work as follows


Morning:

1 PC
1/2 hour later
2 PC
1/2 hour later
Full PC

10 hours later
reverse order

Moonlight coming on at 1/2 on and at 1/2 off.

 

[CFC]

CFC - that sounds awesome! What a great idea! Do you have a custom hood because I think mine only has room for one light.

I dont have hoods on my tanks, i just use plexi glass covers and lay the tubes straight on top with reflectors to cover them and point the light downwards. Hoods just get in the way and are a pain to take off for water changes etc.

 

[enchanted]

That depends. You will have to see my hood when it is complete. My dad has been helping me design it. He seems to have this thing for making up for being a non-existent father while I was growing up now that he is retired.

The one we are building will be hinged in the center with the very top also latched and hinged for changing bulbs. There will be glass between the bulbs and the water.