Why Is My Tank Always So Dark?

[DiscusKeeper403]

well my 25gal high tank is always really dark. even after i do a 50% water change and have the light back on. its a flouresent light that came with the hood. dont think its that good thats why its always so dark. the lfs guy said it was probly the britest one you can find but i dont think so. i have a homemade black background on it that could also be why its dark. anywayz anything could be great

thnks,

dl

 

[Fillet 'O' Fish]

Why not add another light in the hood?

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

i cant theres only one part for the light...

 

[Fillet 'O' Fish]

You can buy seperate starters and light end caps to add as many as you like so long as theres room in the hood for more strips.

 

[LiveLifeGoJump]

What type of tank/hood/size etc.?

All you need is a little bit space for the tube & put the guts elsewhere.

My Juwel light is only 15w standard tube but it's quite bright (and they say the Arcadia tropical are better).

 

[SamUK]

try figure out what bulb you have.


then you can see if theres a more powerful one.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

maybe the black background is a thing to get rid of as black tends to absorb light.
why not get a nice photograph background? they look good.
or maybe just plain aquatic blue? that seems pretty popular and looks real nice.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

well thanks for the replies! ill try to get a new background as well as browse for a better light! although im not sure what these add on lights are... where would i put these strips? mine is nott a strip its a flourescent bulb thats as long as two rulers.

 

[bugsy66]

Are you running a 24" bulb in there? If so try and get what I have on my saltwater tank and it will definatley give you better light and show off your fish more. It is a Coralife, 20watt Power Glo 18,000Kelvin.

 

[Dan04COBRA]

What do you have for substrate?

I was unhappy with my lighting & a cheap fix was some white rock that reflects light very well.

 

[Lynden]

Get 4 250 watt HQI
Now that's bright.

Or you could try either PC (Power Compact Flourescent) or T-5 High Output. They are quite an investment for a small freshwater tank so if I were you, I would get rid of the old hood and get a good twin T-8 strip light.

-Lynden

 

[bugsy66]

its a flouresent light that came with the hood


How old is this light you have right now? These lights start to loose their power after 6 months and maybe you need to get a new light. There have been suggestions about upgrading your lighting but for a freshwater tank I think it is a waste of money. But if you were talking saltwater that would be another story.

Coralife makes lots of different tubes for tanks like yours, some for plant growth some for enhancing the colors in your fish. The standard bulbs these come with have such a yellow hue to them they are not nice but if you were to get a different bulb with the blue tones you would see a huge difference.

My power-glo I suggested is for my saltwater tank, it is what they call a mix of blues and natural tones for the corals I have and fish too. You want to get something that is as close to natural light as possible so it gets rid of that yellow.

On my 10 gal freshwater it has incandescent lighting and I have on there 2 10watt coralife 50/50 10,000K lights. Now that is beautiful lighting even though it is meant for saltwater the colors of the fish are just amazing and it is nice and bright. I don't know how live plants would fair in this type of lighting but I have one huge plastic one in there, been the live plant route and don't care for it to much.

Hope this helps........