Malawi Tank Moonlight Lighting Effect

[mattblackone]

Hi All
Been searching the net for a set of Blue leds to create a moonlight effect in my malawi setup when i came across a kit on Amazon for £18+£3.91 postage
and thought for that price they have to be worth a try.
They came next day delivery which impressed me and the quality is superb, they came complete with ac/dc adapter all leads and 2X 530mm long waterproof led strips which are self adhesive so
fitting them in the hood took a couple of minutes, the 2 strips plug togeather so i only fitted one to start with but the effect was a bit dark so fitted the 2nd and iam well pleased with the result.

If you have a very large tank the strips can be extended to 4 strips on the one power supply

Here is a piccy

and a link to the product

http/www.amazon.co.uk/Vario-LEDKF-Flexib...464&sr=8-34

Bill

 

[forby3]

that looks sweet as i wanted to do that but was unsure my mind is now at ease cheers

 

[Irishgal50]

HI

Your tank looks fab. I have a Malawi set-up also. Like you, I wanted a moonlight effect however, when I fitted the tank with all blue light it felt it was a bit dark and didn't display the colours of the fish very well. I relplaced the light at the back of the tank with an ordinary 'daylight' lamp and left the moonlight one at the front. Now the colours of the fish look amazing whilst the tank has a reef-like look to it. I will try to post a pic soon!

 

[mattblackone]

HI

Your tank looks fab. I have a Malawi set-up also. Like you, I wanted a moonlight effect however, when I fitted the tank with all blue light it felt it was a bit dark and didn't display the colours of the fish very well. I relplaced the light at the back of the tank with an ordinary 'daylight' lamp and left the moonlight one at the front. Now the colours of the fish look amazing whilst the tank has a reef-like look to it. I will try to post a pic soon!

Hi
yea the colours of the fish dont show up with the blue light but the blue leds are only on for the last 1/2 hr each day, i run a marine white tube as the main daylight tube which switches over to an actinic blue to simulate dusk before the blue switches in.
here is a pic with the marine white on

Bill

 

[aaronmcrfc]

tank looks good

 

[hollanda88]

I was going to buy them until i saw the photo and it looks very blue


Is it really that blue or is it just the exposure on the photo

andrew

 

[AdAndrews]

how big is that tank, im intrested in malawi's/tanganyika's

 

[fatheadminnow]

how big is that tank, im intrested in malawi's/tanganyika's

A 55+ US gallon tank is ideal for a Cichlid setup.

-FHM

 

[AdAndrews]

will a 33 us gal 80cm long 50cm tall do?

 

[fatheadminnow]

will a 33 us gal 80cm long 50cm tall do?

I actually have a 29 gallon tank with 6 Cichlids in it.

So a 33 gallon is doable.

Also, Cichlids really dont occupy the water space much more than a foot above the substrate, so with 50 cm, there is going to be a little bit of unused water space.

As long as you stick to the 3 females to every 1 male rule, and provide PLENTY of hiding places, and be ready for a fair amount of aggression, it is possible.

The Cichlids I have in my tank right now are still pretty small, and I plan on getting a 55 gallon tank here is couple months.

You also might want to start a thread on which Malawi Cichlids will be the least aggressive, like Yellow labs, which are one of the less aggressive Malawi Cichlid.

-FHM

 

[dthoffsett]

Long term mbuna just don't do well in a tank under 4-ft. I tried with a 29gal when I first started out, and ended up having to upgrade fairly soon due to aggression, and that was with yellow labs (labidochromis caeruleus).

However, you can do some great Lake Tanganikya setups in smaller tanks. There are some great setup recommendations on www.cichlid-forum.com , I'd link it directly but their site seems to be down at the moment.