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Article post your current lighting setup

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by Anthony, Jan 29, 2009.

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  1. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I thought it would be interesting to have a thread where everyone could post their current lighting setup, lighting times etc etc and the results they were getting in one area.

    On my 30 Long I changed the bulbs yesterday to 4 18k T5's. They're Power-GLO and according to them these bulbs "stimulates photosynthetic aquarium inhabitants". I'm going to see how this works out and if things don't seem to do well replace two with my 10K bulbs.

    Edit: I didn't include all the info I was supposed to. It's my bed time. :)

    The lighting is 156 watts total. All 4 bulbs come on at 8am and go off at 8pm. I don't stagger the on time because the sun always hits the tank through the blinds a bit so it's not going from complete darkness to full light.
     
    Anthony, Jan 29, 2009
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  2. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    90 gallon planted using Catalina Aquarium brand 48" light fixture that contains FOUR 65 watt straight pin (....) Coralife 6700K Bulbs and has a lunar led strip.
    Fixture has 3 plugs making it easily timeable; All bulbs are set on timer which comes on at 10am and goes off just before 10pm at night...just before the lights go out the lunars come on aprox. 15 minutes prior and shut off about 1 hour prior(about 9am) to the bulbs returning on.

    Lunars are NOT used for plants in any way, but I like the nightlight effect of them since the tanks in my bedroom.

    *I also have to note that IF i should have an algae issue as in the past, I will probably be switching out the 2 furthermost rear bulbs for 65watt coralife 50/50's as I read somewhere that it eliminated beard and spot algae that someone else was having issues with in a 90 that wasn't running co2.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 29, 2009
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  3. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Thats a little over 5 wpg. I hope you are running CO2 or you will end up with a tank of ALL types of algae.
     
    Anonymous, Jan 29, 2009
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Not planning on doing cO2 so we shall see. I run about 3.5 wpg on my other tanks and have no problems.
     
    Anthony, Jan 29, 2009
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  5. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Good luck.
     
    Anonymous, Jan 29, 2009
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  6. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I just bought a coralife freshwater 48" double T5 fixture for my freshwater 55 gallon tank. It came with a 28 watt colormax full spectrum, and a 28 watt 6700K. Nothing special, but it definitely lights up the tank a lot more then the old regular fluorescent strips that came with the tank setup.
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 30, 2009
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  7. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I hear ya on the strip lights they include being on the dim side so to speak. That's why I went with compact flourescents myself :)

    Just curious, but Are you/do you grow any low light plants success.?
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 30, 2009
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  8. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Right now I have 4 different types of plants in my tank. I can't remember the name of two of them. One of the ones I can't remember the name of I had in my 20 gallon before is crashed onto my floor. Those are still doing really well. The other 3 I just recently got, so I'm not sure how they will do yet. One is the other one I cant think of the name of, but it is one of the crypts. The other is Java moss, I have that rubber banned to a rock. Then finally is the newest, an anubias I have also banded down to another rock. The only problem I'm noticing lately is I'm starting to get diatomes (at least that's what I think it is, it looks like brown algae and looks dirty as hell lol)
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 30, 2009
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  9. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    get yourself some otocinclus, they love the stuff and maybe dose with some Excel if your not dosing!

    Also, try to find the cause if it's getting worse....Brown diatom algae would make me think off the top of my head & without knowing your setup/maintthat your issue/issues could be new tank, phospates, silicates, or over feeding.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 30, 2009
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  10. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Well, one problem I have is that about half the corys belong to my girlfriend, and she likes to feed them and my other fish...so she might be feeding them after I've already fed them when shes home from work while I'm at work . If it's a food thing causing it, should I stop feeding them for a couple days (and make sure she doesn't feed them as well) and get some ottos?
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 30, 2009
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  11. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    Understandable about the feeding...most think it's neat to watch them scurry for the food. IF it's a overfeeding issue I would tend to think your phosphates would be testing high, you would be seeing signs such as excess food on the bottom possibly looking fuzzy, and or your filter cartridges needing to be rinsed more frequently. Cheapest suggestion would be to cut back a bit on feeding if you feel it's excessive. This old gentleman that I once knew who had fish and success. bred them for more years that I've been alive always told me when it comes to feeding recommendations use this as a rough idea (feed no more than the size of your tanks eyes...meaning that you feed very little, but can feed 2-3 times a day with 2 being what I'd suggest if you and the gf are feeding them)...that way you get the best of both worlds!

    She'll be happy because she can feed them, you'll be assured since your able to feed them in case she doesn't...you'll use less food than your probably going through right now & depending on what you feed and the frequency...it should make a improvement in your water quality. PLUS, as I said it's the easiest source to eliminate first imo.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 30, 2009
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  12. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    This is where I am going with lighting.... I am configured a bit different now, this weekend I will get halfway there and in another week this is where I will be:

    2 - 10,000K 4' 32-40 watt T8 for 10 hours
    4 - 6,500K 4' 32 watt T8 for 6 hours

    The 2 sets are on timers where the 10,000K come on... a few hours later the 6,500K join them and then shut off after the 6 hours leaving the 2 10,000K to end the day simulating sunrise, sunset and mid-day
     
    LemonDiscus, Jan 30, 2009
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  13. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    That sounds like it will work well.
     
    Anthony, Jan 30, 2009
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  14. GOT MTS?

    GOT MTS? Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I have a 40 gallon breeder tank with nova extreme SLR t5 lighting. 156 watts 2 6700K bulbs 1 10,000K bulb and 1 plant bulb. In the process of setting up the tank so I'll post again when thing are up and running. The light is very bright but the nova fan is sooooooo loud. Working on installing another fan and a switch to reduce the voltage and make it less noisy.
     
    GOT MTS?, Jan 30, 2009
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  15. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I have to wait on the 10,000K lights for a week or so... I will have the extra pair of 6,500Ks tomorrow when I move, clean and fix my tank. Yipee! :confused:
     
    LemonDiscus, Jan 30, 2009
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  16. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    The 4 18k bulbs I'm using seem to be doing pretty well. I'm considering changing two of them out to make a 10k and a 460nm Actinic to see how that works out.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  17. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I switched things up today to see how things look after a week with different bulbs. I'm now using 3 10ks with one 460nm Actinic.
     
    Anthony, Feb 16, 2009
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  18. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I ma using a 97w pc fixture with a dual sunlight bulb that I think is 11K and 9K
     
    Anonymous, Feb 20, 2009
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  19. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    MOD_Dawn, Jul 25, 2009
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  20. alpinefish

    alpinefish New Member

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    Re: Post Your Lighting Setup

    I have two 6500K natural daylight compact flourescent bulbs from the hardware store. They're 15w a piece. So far, they seem to work
     
    alpinefish, Jul 25, 2009
    #20
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