AHHHH Its TOO Bright!!!!

dalo78

dalo78

Member
Ok so I just started setup this week on on 26g BF reef tank. I was told to get nice lights so I thought I did...24" T5 6x24W w/ 3-actinic and 3- 10k and lunar moon LEDs. I have a glass top on my tank so we just set the fixture on top of the glass of the aqarium. Unfortunately I quickly noticed that its just too hot. The temp. this morning @ 10am was 83 before having the lights on. At 8pm I checked the temp. and its 88 after having the lights on during the day. The fixture came with attachable legs so we just now put those on figuring it would help to have some air flow under the lamp but now its lighting up my whole house! The tank is on the same wall as the television and the light is even drowning out the TV! In the last picture of my living room there is absolutely no lights on and no flash and its completely dark outside. It should be pitch black in the room but the SUPER LIGHT has planes landing in our yard! What do I do?


 
coral keeper

coral keeper

Active Member
WOW!! I have a 150 watt MH over my 28 gallon tank and is NO WHERE NEAR that bright!! I've never seen T-5s being that bright!
 
t-bone

t-bone

Member
looks like a tanning booth light, lift it a few feet off the tank by hanging from ceiling then charge people to sit around it getting tan.
 
metweezer

metweezer

Active Member
Dude,
Welcome to the hobby. Is there a lighthouse nearby that could use some supplemental lighting
How about moving the tank? Your lighting is way too intense for your tank. Maybe you could open up a tanning spa
Seriously I would hope you could either take the light back or hold it for a future upgrade. You got 6 watts per gallon and looking at your tank it is way too much. There is a lot of information on this forum. I would suggest you read first and purchase later. You might be able to sell the fixture in classified ads here.
 
dalo78

dalo78

Member
Originally Posted by metweezer
http:///forum/post/2731705
Dude,
Welcome to the hobby. Is there a lighthouse nearby that could use some supplemental lighting
How about moving the tank? Your lighting is way too intense for your tank. Maybe you could open up a tanning spa
Seriously I would hope you could either take the light back or hold it for a future upgrade. You got 6 watts per gallon and looking at your tank it is way too much. There is a lot of information on this forum. I would suggest you read first and purchase later. You might be able to sell the fixture in classified ads here.
I did read first and asked questions and went to 3 LFS before purchasing ANYTHING! I was told that I needed at least 150W but no more than 240W by EVERYONE. The light I purchased is 144W. I rechecked with the LFS and forums and everyone said it was perfect and congratulated me for being patient and researching before purchasing. The light is made in the USA by Solar Lighting Systems.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Remove the glass top if you can. That should help on the negative reflection (light going back up).
And pretty much wait for corals/the sand to age. Being 'brand new' it's super reflective.
Worst case scenario, look into adding a canopy.
Here's what the halides on my 125 did to my house at first. Now it's better.
 
M

markeo99

Guest
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2731733
Remove the glass top if you can. That should help on the negative reflection (light going back up).
And pretty much wait for corals/the sand to age. Being 'brand new' it's super reflective.
Worst case scenario, look into adding a canopy.
Here's what the halides on my 125 did to my house at first. Now it's better.
yep he nailed it
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2731724
great light! I suggest you turn it off at night.


I agree.
If it is still hot blow a fan past the tank. I have a 3' vertical fan that works great. Small foot print and pretty quiet.
I run 234 watts of T5 on a 46 gallon. No need for extra lights in the room.
Before the light are on
.. After they come on

 
dalo78

dalo78

Member
Thanks for the actual suggestions Aquanight. If I make a hood do I need to build some fans into it? Also, now Metweezer has me worried that I got repeatedly misinformed. Do I have too much light? Am I going to fry any coral or fish that I get. Everyone kept telling me I was on the edge of not having enough light..... now i have no idea :(
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Does the fixture have a built-in fan(s) on it? T5's perform best the coolest you can get them. So if it doesn't and even if you don't wind up with a canopy, I'd look into a fan. With a canopy though, there's still plenty of air flow, so you don't have to add, just 'cause.'
I wouldn't worry about the lights being harmful. T5's provide lots of quality light. 400 watt metal halides over small tanks is what 'burns' corals.
 
M

markeo99

Guest
I have 2x250 mh plus 120 watts pc actnic on a 55
just hide the softies under rocks and put the sps anywhere
mine figures to like 9 watts per gallon
most softies do get used to the light I have mine mid tank
 
cveverly

cveverly

Member
My opinion, the light is fine. Like mentioned above it will get better as the tank ages. Removing the glass canopy is a great idea if you light has a cover of some kind to protect it from salt spray.
When you add corals you will want to light acclimate them. This can be done with sheets of fiberglass window screen. Add a few layers and slowly remove them over a couple of weeks. Your corals will love the light. If you were just going to have softies then maybe you went a “little” overboard.
You can build a canopy around the light but I would hold off on that for a while. A canopy can actually hold heat in your tank. If you feel you can’t deal with the light after a couple months then build your canopy.
 
M

markeo99

Guest
haveing the entire room white prob doesnt help much maybe try painting the back of the tank dark
never mind looks like it is
 
grue

grue

Member
Get rid of the cat scratching post and add another tank. With that much light at both ends it should balance out. Just wear shades in the house at all times!
 
janscott23

janscott23

Member
what about disconnecting 1 or 2 of the bulbs.
or replace one of the 10,000k white with a actinic bulb giving you 2 10k and 4 actinics maby a little extra blue will reduce the brightness...
 
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