New lights - Desperate at this point...

[PheonixKingZ]

Guys, i need advice...

The light in my 20g long, lets face it, is TRASH. So is the light that came in my 5g starter kit. (It's in the hood, and it's tetra brand, no surprise there...)

I am looking for an excellent, super bright light for my 20g long and my 5g tank, (20g is higher priority to me at this point) may that be bar or some sort of other type.

I hear Fluval is really good? (Although I'm not sure I want to pay there prices, they are sooo expensive )

Not sure what my budget is yet, but let's keep it reasonable for someone my age please... Thank in advance!

 

[FFGuest6357]

You need to read up on lighting.

get to know your values, types of bulbs and strips.

there’s a world of information out there on lights, and there’s a light that suits your needs and budget.

but you have to know what you’re looking for.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You need to read up on lighting.

get to know your values, types of bulbs and strips.

there’s a world of information out there on lights, and there’s a light that suits your needs and budget.

but you have to know what you’re looking for.

Any idea where to start? The lighting I have now was just pure luck, not gonna lie...

I would tag @Byron, but he isn't fully recovered from his surgery yet.

Anyone else?

 

[FFGuest6357]

Any idea where to start? The lighting I have now was just pure luck, not gonna lie...

I would tag @Byron, but he isn't fully recovered from his surgery yet.

Anyone else?

absolutely.

when it comes to LED lighting, wattage is not really a big deal.

you want to do some research on kelvins, I believe that represents colour temperature. Warm vs cool lighting. For example a “warm” colour will be more beige or earthy light. A cool colour would be like a bright white colour.

The other term you need to be familiar with is lumens, that is going to be the general brightness of the light. This one ties into PAR values I think, which has something to do with how much light your plants need for photosynthesis. But the lumens will determine how bright your light is and how deep into the water column it penetrates.

unless you are trying to grow a specific plant or coral, it’s mostly personal taste as to what lights you choose. You don’t need to break the bank in lighting.

there are a ton of great articles on lighting that I wish I could link here for you, but I don’t know how..

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Ok, great info so far!

I just wanted to get some other members personal experiences or what lights they use/pictures of how they look.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've actually had pretty good luck with off-brand LED lights off amazon. Get one with lots of bulbs, one that gets averages at least 4.5 stars on reviews, and read the comments/questions to see if it's good for growing plants.

Works for me. Good luck.
T

 

[FFGuest6357]

off brand shop LED lights off of amazon...

six of them light up my garage like a stadium....

the canopy I’m using right now is by Aqueon, for my 20 long. It came with the lid. The lid, canopy and one bulb was around $120 CAD. Plus an extra 40-60$ for a second bulb. Keep in mind that’s Canadian monies.

the factory light is the bright white, and I added a second one that’s the beauty tone, or whatever it’s called, so I get a mix of both colour tones. I’m pretty happy with it. Both lights are LED tubes.

that’s probably a little on the high side of what you can pay for, you can go lower cost for sure, but if you want to start looking at the fluval 3.0 or other high end lights, you’ll be paying a pretty penny.

I’ll post a picture tomorrow of my lights on the aquarium if you’d like to see them. My boys asleep right now, so I’m not going to wake him up

 

[PheonixKingZ]

fluval 3.0

I was looking at the 3.0 earlier, but it's way to expensive for me. I was also looking at the Nano, but that runs for around $80, so still way up there.

The issue is, I want it to last a long time, because I've had my experiences with cheap things from Amazon...

I guess I'll do some more digging tomorrow and see what I can find.

(I would like to see pictures. )

 

[FFGuest6357]

Shoot me a message tomorrow then, I’m case I forget. It’s Saturday after all and I’ve got a full slate of things to do tomorrow, so unless you remind me, I may forget. That happens when you get older...

 

[Fishmanic]

off brand shop LED lights off of amazon...

six of them light up my garage like a stadium....

the canopy I’m using right now is by Aqueon, for my 20 long. It came with the lid. The lid, canopy and one bulb was around $120 CAD. Plus an extra 40-60$ for a second bulb. Keep in mind that’s Canadian monies.

the factory light is the bright white, and I added a second one that’s the beauty tone, or whatever it’s called, so I get a mix of both colour tones. I’m pretty happy with it. Both lights are LED tubes.

that’s probably a little on the high side of what you can pay for, you can go lower cost for sure, but if you want to start looking at the fluval 3.0 or other high end lights, you’ll be paying a pretty penny.

I’ll post a picture tomorrow of my lights on the aquarium if you’d like to see them. My boys asleep right now, so I’m not going to wake him up

Someone really likes to go fishing.

 

[FFGuest6357]

Someone really likes to go fishing.

guilty as charged... ?

 

[itiwhetu]

Remember that lighting isn't just about brightness but is about colour spectrum. Every tank is unique and will take experimentation to get the right fix for your system.

 

[eatyourpeas]

It really depends on your plants more than fish, probably. Byron wrote a nice article here:

Contact Support

I use Fluval Aquasky 2.0 for my rectangular tanks, but on my cube nano I have a Nicrew and am quite happy with it. It is on a timer.

 

[itiwhetu]

ALWAYS have your lights on a timer.

 

[Colin_T]

LED spotlight from a hardware store?