Nano Lighting

[sarah40011]

i love the nano lamps on green machine but they are far too expensive for me, like 300 quid could i use a normal lamp with an LED bulb in, my boyfriend is saying a GU10 is fine... im lost lol. the tank is 30 cm long 9 wide and 21 high. will be planted for a really natural looking shrimp tank

 

[sarah40011]

ok well could someone direct me somewhere to learn about lighting?

 

[DrRob]

You can put pretty much any light over a tank, so long as it's safe from the moisture point of view.

How much lighting and what type of bulb would depend on all sorts of factors, mainly what you're trying to grow and what you like the look of. The shrimp probably won't care all that much.

Generally the more demanding plants you want to grow, the more expensive the lighting will end up.

 

[Theplayboy]

What plants do you intend to grow?

Thats a fairly big factor!

I have grown anubias with no light on tank, not even daylight, just room light. Again I have grown java moss in a tank with no light but sat on a window sill.

 

[sarah40011]

hmmmm, well some small plants and moss really. was mainly enquiring if you can use LED bulbs for plant growth?

 

[Theplayboy]

Short answer, for moss, yes.

 

[DrRob]

I dump my excess moss in a small tank on the floor by the main tank. It has a single 25w lamp and grows moss nicely.