Custom Lighting Set up For My Fresh Water Tropical Tank

[sparkypenguin]

Hi all,

I'm hoping for some help with a lighting project that I want to start.

I have a 48 x 24 x 24" tank with limited live plants including some floating water lettuce.
It has 2 traditional bulbs that give sufficient light from a visual point of view but have a few drawbacks that I wish to address.
1. They are too close to the floating plants and get very hot so they can scorch the leaves and burn me if I accidentally touch them.
2. They are a simply on / off light so I have to switch on / off the other room lights to try and simulate a gradual light change.
3. They use a lot of electricity!

Therefore I ideally want to change to an LED set up with the ability to automatically gradually increase and decrease the light intensity.
This would involve making a new lid with the light fittings being suspended at an increased distance to the top of the water to reduce the heat on the floating plants.
I would also like the ability to change the light colour to one that is similar to moonlight.
As ever it needs to be done at a budget so I am hoping that I can just use normal, correctly IP rated, dimmable and programmable RGB LEDs rather then aquarium specific LEDs, is this true?

And whilst I am on the lighting topic...
What are peoples thoughts on underwater decorative lighting in aquariums?
And are they any colours of light that simulate darkness for the fish and therefore stimulate night time activity whilst still allowing me to view them?

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Mark.

 

[Uberhoust]

My LEDs 48" long, do not generate near the heat that tubes do, but they provide enough light that I never run them at 100%. I have two and they both average around 6000k, and both are in the range of 40 watts. I will admit they do not work all that well for my floaters because they too are too close to the top of the tank. Water 1" of space, Glass Cover, 1" to bottom of light. The cone of light is pretty narrow at the water surface.

A less expensive option might be to purchase a cheap pendant light system hung over the tank and using 4 or more par 30 style LED bulbs with a daylight color temp. The color adjustable domestic LED lights tend to be more expensive. If you got dimmable ones you could put a dimmer switch on the common power supply. You will be dealing with ac so the dimming will not be as good as with a dc system.

 

[Byron]

What are peoples thoughts on underwater decorative lighting in aquariums?

No, don't. This is unnatural and therefore stressful to fish.

And are they any colours of light that simulate darkness for the fish and therefore stimulate night time activity whilst still allowing me to view them?

No again. Darkness is just that, pitch black darkness. While some tropic areas do get moonlight, the majority never do and fish need the night period of total darkness. As for moonlight, so long as it is very brief, no problem; by very brief I mean 30-50 minutes before the main tank light comes on and roughly the same after it goes out. The "day" must be a continuous period, not broken up, for the fish.

I've used T8 fluorescent lighting throughout my 30 years in the hobby, so my experience with LED is non-existent, but there are good LED units though they do seem expensive. Others can recommend better than I can.

 

[sparkypenguin]

My LEDs 48" long, do not generate near the heat that tubes do, but they provide enough light that I never run them at 100%. I have two and they both average around 6000k, and both are in the range of 40 watts. I will admit they do not work all that well for my floaters because they too are too close to the top of the tank. Water 1" of space, Glass Cover, 1" to bottom of light. The cone of light is pretty narrow at the water surface.

A less expensive option might be to purchase a cheap pendant light system hung over the tank and using 4 or more par 30 style LED bulbs with a daylight color temp. The color adjustable domestic LED lights tend to be more expensive. If you got dimmable ones you could put a dimmer switch on the common power supply. You will be dealing with ac so the dimming will not be as good as with a dc system.

Thanks for the reply.
I'm considering building a new lid for the tank so I can raise them reasonably high so a pendant system may work if I was to use an acrylic sheet to keep them nice and dry.

 

[sparkypenguin]

No, don't. This is unnatural and therefore stressful to fish.



No again. Darkness is just that, pitch black darkness. While some tropic areas do get moonlight, the majority never do and fish need the night period of total darkness. As for moonlight, so long as it is very brief, no problem; by very brief I mean 30-50 minutes before the main tank light comes on and roughly the same after it goes out. The "day" must be a continuous period, not broken up, for the fish.

I've used T8 fluorescent lighting throughout my 30 years in the hobby, so my experience with LED is non-existent, but there are good LED units though they do seem expensive. Others can recommend better than I can.

Thanks Byron.

I suspected as much when it came to the underwater lighting but good to have it confirmed.

With regards to the lighting phases I currently have near pitch black from about midnight to whenever the daylight starts to come through the curtains. I then open the blinds and curtains and they get whatever natural light comes in through the window until I switch the tank lights on at around 6pm. However coming into the winter I am thinking that I really need the lights to come on before it starts to get dark. Is there a recommended min / max time of daylight / darkness that I should aim to adhere to?

 

[Byron]

Thanks Byron.

I suspected as much when it came to the underwater lighting but good to have it confirmed.

With regards to the lighting phases I currently have near pitch black from about midnight to whenever the daylight starts to come through the curtains. I then open the blinds and curtains and they get whatever natural light comes in through the window until I switch the tank lights on at around 6pm. However coming into the winter I am thinking that I really need the lights to come on before it starts to get dark. Is there a recommended min / max time of daylight / darkness that I should aim to adhere to?

In the tropics, day and night are consistent throughout the year, with approximately 11 hours of each with the two periods separated by dawn and dusk. You don't need to adhere strictly to this, but reasonably so. The "day" period is whatever number of hours you want the tank light on, which for most is dependent somewhat upon algae (planted tanks) and you want it when you are usually home to enjoy the aquarium. The period of night somewhat depends upon nature, as once the daylight begins to enter the room, darkness is over. In my situation, darkness ran consistent with the natural world, because I only had the tank lighting on from 10 am to 5 pm in summer (with longer daylight) and 9 am to 4 pm in winter, so the daylight was in the room before and after this period. Back when I was working, the tank lighting was later in the day so I could enjoy it in the evening, and it came on at around 1 pm and went out at 8 or 9 pm, but I had room light on a timer to provide an hour of ambient light after 8 pm.

 

[sparkypenguin]

In the tropics, day and night are consistent throughout the year, with approximately 11 hours of each with the two periods separated by dawn and dusk. You don't need to adhere strictly to this, but reasonably so. The "day" period is whatever number of hours you want the tank light on, which for most is dependent somewhat upon algae (planted tanks) and you want it when you are usually home to enjoy the aquarium. The period of night somewhat depends upon nature, as once the daylight begins to enter the room, darkness is over. In my situation, darkness ran consistent with the natural world, because I only had the tank lighting on from 10 am to 5 pm in summer (with longer daylight) and 9 am to 4 pm in winter, so the daylight was in the room before and after this period. Back when I was working, the tank lighting was later in the day so I could enjoy it in the evening, and it came on at around 1 pm and went out at 8 or 9 pm, but I had room light on a timer to provide an hour of ambient light after 8 pm.

Cheers.
I never knew that the tropic day / nights were consistent and I'll definitely have to ensure my lighting set up mimics as closely as possible the 11 hours either by the use of dimmers or using multiple lights on different timers.
I'm thinking I could use a grid of bathroom downlighters set up so that individual ones could be turned on / off or dimmed. This would also allow me to create light and dark sections within the tank which I believe would be beneficial to the fish.

What are your thoughts on coloured lighting from above, i.e. blue / red?
I'm just thinking something subtle to give a colour tinge to the tank.

 

[Byron]

Cheers.
I never knew that the tropic day / nights were consistent and I'll definitely have to ensure my lighting set up mimics as closely as possible the 11 hours either by the use of dimmers or using multiple lights on different timers.
I'm thinking I could use a grid of bathroom downlighters set up so that individual ones could be turned on / off or dimmed. This would also allow me to create light and dark sections within the tank which I believe would be beneficial to the fish.

What are your thoughts on coloured lighting from above, i.e. blue / red?
I'm just thinking something subtle to give a colour tinge to the tank.

You might not want 11 hours. This is a planted tank, so the light and available nutrients must be balanced for the plant species and numbers. In my own case, seven hours was the max. Anything more and problem algae (in my case black brush algae) became an issue. The allowable duration of the brightest tank lighting will depend upon your system.

As for the dimmers and such...this probably will not work. Taking my case again, I could only have seven hours to avoid problem algae. This was it for lighting over the tank. If you start having weaker light, the plants cannot use it, and algae will take advantage. Unlike higher plants, algae does not care about the intensity nor the spectrum, it can use any light and will. There will always be nutrients with fish in the tank, so the light becomes the crucial factor. This is one of the problems with artificial moonlight.

Any light/dark areas are achieved with decor and plants. Of course, without live plants, you can have quite different lighting, such as spotlights of sorts, representing the sun shining through on a particular spot. That is another thing entirely.

As for coloured light...here again the plants call the shots. Light that is high in red (primarily) and blue is needed to drive photosynthesis. Anding strong green to this combination benefits plants, probably because it is then closest to mid-day sun under which the plants evolved. However, red alone, blue alone, or green alone, will not benefit the plants, and algae will then use it. Aside from this, it doesn't look right, and I suspect the fish would be affected. Fish eyes are not much different from those of other vertebrates including humans. Our eyes share a cornea, an iris, a lens, a pupil, and a retina. The latter contains rods which allow us to see in dim light and cones which perceive colours; while mammals (like us) have two types of cones, fish have three—one for each of the colors red, green and blue. These connect to nerve cells which transmit images to the brain, and the optic lobe is the largest part of the fish’s brain. So any light, or light changes, significantly impact the fish.

Remember, the aquarium is the fish's home and you must ensure you provide what the fish require and no more. Light and sound are very important.

I have an explanatory article on how light affects freshwater fish, it is on the blog of one of our members, here:

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[sparkypenguin]

Hi @Byron and thank you very much for your usual detailed and knowledgeable reply.
I will most certainly be reviewing the information that you have provided, including the article, before proceeding with my project.
Thanks again
Mark.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I now use these for my 29 gallon and 53 gallon aquariums. Althought they can be used underwater, I have mine fitted to the glass stress bar at the back of the aquarium above the water line.

Identical to the Nicrew RGB MCR, infinitely dimmable (mine are set to the equivalent of cloudy day) They are supplied with UK plugs, remote control and upto 108cm long

Inexpensive and long lasting (one of mine is still going strong after 8+ years)

Aquarium Fish Tank 5050 RGB LED Strip Lights Bar Lamp Submersible Lights UK Plug | eBay

,which creat a beautiful effect in the aquarium. - Color of the light:Blue / White / Blue + White / RGB. 1 x Aquarium Fish Tank LED Air Curtain With Cable. - You can use 2 or more led bars for a larger tank with one remote.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[sparkypenguin]

Hi @wasmewasntit - Thanks for your reply and the link.
I am considering those.