Lighting

55galsw

Member
What would be a good light fixture to give be the nice blue look to my aquarium without having to have a fixture hanging above my aquarium.
Going without a lid makes me nervous as i would be afraid the fish would jump out
thanks
 

gio28

Active Member
IMO T5 would be your best choice...they run cooler than MH. MHs get really hot as you probably know so you kinda have to hang them. im assuming you have a glass canopy over your tank...and if you dont want anything to hang above it T5 would be a good idea...because it (probably) wont crack the glass due to heat as a MH would. so...T5 seems like a good choice and is also not as expensive. if you want a blue look i would go with a combination of 460NM bulbs and 10,000K bulbs.
 

55galsw

Member
No right now i have just a normal black plastic hood.....
Im Confused about all of this lighting,i thought t5's were hung above the tank also i thought they got hot as well...
What about compact flourescents?
what should i use as a lid on my tank to keep my eel from escaping,but that also would not block my lighting from the tank
 

extinct 1ne

Member
Originally Posted by 55galSW
http:///forum/post/3090749
No right now i have just a normal black plastic hood.....
Im Confused about all of this lighting,i thought t5's were hung above the tank also i thought they got hot as well...
What about compact flourescents?
what should i use as a lid on my tank to keep my eel from escaping,but that also would not block my lighting from the tank
I would say either buy or build a canopy and put some T5's in it. I currently run T5's & Compact Fluorescents under my 55g canopy.
 

gio28

Active Member
if you dont have a reef tank then you can do whatever lighting you want. if you do then i would recommend T5s...they do get hot still but not as much as MHs. i have a glass hood on my tank cause i have fish that may jump. so put a glass hood on your tank to keep your eel in. the hood will only make you lose a tiny bit of light...just keep the glass hood clean of salt creep.
do you have a reef tank?
 

55galsw

Member
No its not a reef tank its a FOWLR....
So i i buy a glass lid then the T5's would be om to sit on top of the glass?
 

gio28

Active Member
well with FOWLR you dont need a ton of light to keep corals so you could just DIY a few T5s and build something to have them above your tank. a glass top or plastic eggcrate would keep your eel from escaping. if you use eggcrate you could set the T5s right on it cause the eggcrate wont crack. if you use a glass top then the lights need to be suspended somehow because the heat might crack the glass.
 

6mmmedic

Member
Im planning on doing 2 48" VHO's over my 125. I can buy a kit for 75 bucks plus the cost of bulbs. I think that will be plenty of light for me.
 
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