What Type Of Lightning?

[yancho]

Guys,

What should I get for my 4ft aquarium please? Should I get a UV neon tube or a normal fluorescent will do? I a going to have live breaders in it and then some villusalis and cabomba plants.

Was told LEDs are not useful. With regards to neon tubes can you please suggest me what I should get?

I was thinking about this: http/www.everytronics.co.uk/products/QTX-Light-Blacklight-box,-ultra-violet,-600mm,-20W-160.414.html

Since I do not have a hood. just a cover, should I fix the whole tube above the aquarium - say 10cm or so or should I take out the tube and fix it with the internal glass of the aquarium?

Cheers

 

[the biffster]

Guys,

What should I get for my 4ft aquarium please? Should I get a UV neon tube or a normal fluorescent will do? I a going to have live breaders in it and then some villusalis and cabomba plants.

Was told LEDs are not useful. With regards to neon tubes can you please suggest me what I should get?

I was thinking about this: http/www.everytronics.co.uk/products/QTX-Light-Blacklight-box,-ultra-violet,-600mm,-20W-160.414.html

Since I do not have a hood. just a cover, should I fix the whole tube above the aquarium - say 10cm or so or should I take out the tube and fix it with the internal glass of the aquarium?

Cheers

beauty light tube shows of colors and i think you can still get them

 

[yancho]

say again? sorry didnt understand

 

[the biffster]

say again? sorry didnt understand

you can buy a tube called a beauty light
its used for showing the colours of the fish

 

[yancho]

Ok cool

But instead of the Beauty Light, can I get an off the shelf tube? Is it better a UV or a fluorescent light? Read that UV can create a lot of algae. Is it true?

 

[mbsqw1d]

why are you talking about UV to light your fish with? the only purpose of ultra-violet light in an aquarium is for killing bacteria as far as im aware of and they are closed units.

if you are going down the diy route, id b tempted to get t5 flourescents... standard 'daylight' tubes you'd find in an office for example. i'll try and find you a link to somone who experimented with different colours.

LEDs are probably the best lighting option around if you can afford to do it properly. especially when they are controlled to imitate sunrise etc

 

[yancho]

Ok cool. cheers for the explanation mbsqw1d

Will go for a florescent tube then.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

am i right in thining you don't have a hood? If you just hang the tubes from the ceiling, i would recommend getting some reflectors, so its not a giant up-light (unless thats what you want)

 

[yancho]

Yeah right Timmy. Was thinking to disconnect the connectors and using china connectors cover in electricians tape and put the tube only on the aquarium top. The rest will be away from water.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

that sounds cool to me.

If your worries about water, you can buy condensation trays that sit on the top of the tank. They are quite good if you have your tank in the high 20s anyway so all you water doesnt boil off

 

[moochy13]

sorry to hijack the thread, but im in a similar position. ive been given some lights and am making a hood, but im not sure which light to use.

its a 4ft long tank, and i will be putting real plants in it hopefully. the lights are both T5 36W and 38 inches long with inbuilt reflectors. one is labelled 'daylight' and one is labelled 'UV pink plant growth' or something. should i use both or if only one which one ? i really dont want any algae.

 

[yancho]

Will an energy saving bulb do the job? Something like this: http/www.barmey.co.uk/ssl/aspcart/productview.asp?product_id=103320&source=froogle

Coz that I can buy a holder for it, put the electric tape around it and I'm safe from water splashes no?

 

[Timmy_Bee]

i doubt you will get enougb wattage to grow plants with an energy saver.
Im pretty sure you can buy the connectors for Juwel tanks, so you could probs do it that way? might cost a bit more, but at least you know its fit for an aquarium.

Moochy13 - i would whack both in. On my tank, i have one daylight and one 'warm' light becuase 2 daylights mean lots of algae...

Edit: Also, my Gourami look great when they swim from the back to the front of the tank, where one bulb highlights their red, and the other their blue

 

[yancho]

timmy, isn't 20watts energy saver a 100w equivalent? or since its using less energy I'm screwed?

 

[Timmy_Bee]

im no expert, but i would guess they're not as good.
I think energy savers work by outputting less heat (and therefor more efficeint light) and if this was 100% true, then i dont think it would matter. But i have a sneaky suspition its not a simple as that. Maybe thats a question for the Scientific forum?