Best Way To Dim Lighting (Budget)

[nortonmad213]

well simply my tank light is really bright and i wondered the best way of dimming the light slightly as the switch doesnt have a dimmer on it.
so i wondered if there was a way of shrouding it without setting it on fire.
any help gladly accepted.
thanks in advance

 

[DerpPH]

Some floating plants can help dim the light a bit. Like salvinia, duckweed and azzola. It can help dim the light a bit underwater and is beneficial to your fish

 

[KirkyArcher]

Is your lighting LED, Fluorescent or incandescent? LED and Fluorescent you could safely apply a grey tinted film or even some wrap some tights or similar to either of those directly or even just mask an area beneath the tube or LED array with electrical tape to effectively reduce the light emitted, Incandescent lamps on the other hand generate far too much heat for that method.

 

[fluttermoth]

I rest sheets of cardboard or books across my condensation trays 

; it doesn't get too hot under florescent tubes.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I have a clear blue bathmat from sainsbury's cut in strips and resting on my condensation tray.... cost me £4...  Also working on growing some floating plants. 

 

[Lillefishy]

You can get sheets of specialist lighting gel on ebay for not a lot of money

 

[DerpPH]

Well floating plants are cheap. They do wonders for your fish as well

 

[nortonmad213]

i have led lights,
i like the thought of growing plants but wouldnt have the first clue where to start lol.
the tinted film idea sounds great.
thanks for all your replies

 

[DrRob]

You can also raise lights, not always practical but it does reduce the intensity.

 

[nortonmad213]

ah yes another good point. thanks again.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

I am growing amazon frogbits in mine.  I bought 7 plants a week ago and it has already spawned 4 more tiny plants.

 

[nortonmad213]

are they easy to look after?
do they require soil to root into etc?
i honestly dont know where to start with growing plants

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Amazon frogbits just float, no rooting in soil.  They do have roots though that hangdown a couple of inches.  They look like this: 
 
For my tank in general, I'm just using a basic fertilizer since I have reduced the number of fish I have and they can't handle that themselves anymore.
 
They are nice and cheap on ebay, by the way, that's where I got mine since I wasn't sure I'd like them.... now I can't wait until they sprout more.. got a lot more surface to cover.

Oooops, my link disappeared!  LOL
 
Here is a good picture from ebay (there are cheaper sellers though)
 
http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-X-Amazon-Frogbit-Live-Plants-Aquarium-Shrimp-Fish-/271276087889?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&hash=item3f29509a51

 

[nortonmad213]

ahh i c. they sound absolutely perfect i'll follow link when i get home as ebay blocked at work.
thanks for your help everyone.
i'll keep you posted.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

On standard fluor. fixtures I used a couple of sheets of white paper like you would use for a laser printer. What Staples etc sell. I cut it down for the width and put put on the glass under the strip. Never had one burn or catch fire yet.
 
I use hinged or non-hinged glass tops and lights of various types sit atop the glass basically supported in come cases, on either end by the tank fram. T-12, T-8, T-5 power compacts and T-5 regular bulbs retrofitted into old strips are all used.