Sweetysmum Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 recommended. What colour fluoresent tube is best. And whether a double fluorescent is recommended or a single. Its for my six foot tank so will have to get 2 only 3 ft lights. The height of the tank is 24" . I would appreciate any suggestions or advice. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Are you planning on keeping plants? I think you'd need a fair bit more light than two double 3 footers, especially for 2 feet high. Go MH all the way 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetysmum Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 tell me what MH stands for. Sorry for the ignorance. And I appreciate your advice as we never learn without asking. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenceo Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Metal Halide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 With regards to colour, I assume you mean colour temperature. Standard household lights are 2900K which is a bit of a yellowy colour often called 'Warm White' and not very good for fish tanks. 6500K is considered 'Daylight' its generally the best for most freshwater aquarium setups, especially if you have plants. 6500K tubes can be found at electrical wholesalers for less than $10 in most common sizes, and give off a nice bright white colour which is perfect for plants. They are also called 'Cool Daylight' 'Bright Daylight' and 'Colour 86'. I've had good success with 7000K bulbs too, and 14,000K gives off a nice bright white, but its known that 6500K is the best choice for most situations, and its also used outside of the fishy world, so 6500K tubes can be aquired from places other than your pet store at much lower costs. Metal Halide (MH) lights are a different type of lighting setup, they use a small bulb which gives off a huge amount of light. The upside to these is they give off a lot more light per watt, and the higher intensity of light can penetrate water deeply, great for deep tanks or where extreme lighting is wanted/needed. Downside is they give off a lot of heat, and need to be kept at least 20 or so cm away from the glass, most people often hang them from the ceiling. Great but they're expensive, and probably only worthwhile investigating if you're wanting to get real serious with planted aquaria, for most people 6500K daylight fluoros are the way to go I would go with two double 3ft setups for a tank that size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 They're only expensive if you get the proper aquarium halide units. A double three foot would be around $70-80? so that's $140-160. I got my halide (shop unit) for $100, then the 6400k bulb was $60, so that's roughly the same price. It really depends on what you're going to be keeping in the tank; do you want plants, or just fish? If you're going heavily planted I would say go with the halides or T5's, but if it's not heavily planted stick with the fluoro's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 I agree with Ant. If you're worried about setting up MH and the heat etc, also bear in mind you'd need at least two to cover a 6ft tank, then t5s would be a better option. T5s have smaller tubes than t8s (normal sized fluorescent tubes that most people have and you see in the ceilings of buildings). T5s give out more wattage too so they're better for plants than t8s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Also which noone has mention about the Halides is the huge wattage (compared to fluoro's) and it will push up your powerbill.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetysmum Posted January 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 The main fish to go in this tank and the reason for even setting it up is for my clown loach. Her name is Sweety. I have had her for over 20 years now She's awesome. Shes a real people fish she loves people. I love having plants there, but they usually get knocked about anyway so I am not too worried about them. But she is the one I want to get everything right for. Thanks guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antwan Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Got a pic of your clown loach, must be fully grown by now wouldn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 7, 2007 Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 Yeah she sounds awesome, I love clown loaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweetysmum Posted January 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 but am not very computer literate and think its too big. Will work on it though. Failing that I could always email you a pic if you like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 the light blew on my 4ft yesterday so i went & got a new one from master trade, it said cool daylight, put it in & now my tank has a horrible green glow to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 Sounds broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 ???? really? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 My cool daylight tubes are bright white, there is no glowing green. Unless its the reflection from your plants or something?? or algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 i have a few bright plants & no algae, too many bn's :lol: but the whole tank looks like homer simpson has dropped one of his radioactive sticks in it :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 lol thats not good If the tube itself is glowing green, then sounds like there has been a mixup. When mine have loose connections etc they flicker, but its always white, never seen them give off any kind of green, and I've got various brands in 2ft and 4ft sizes, all Cool Daylight, Colour 86, 6500K (whatever you want to call them. Might want to see whats written on the tube itself maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted January 9, 2007 Report Share Posted January 9, 2007 thanks, i'll have a look when bf comes round, its a 2 person job lifting the hood, wonder if they'll take it back without the cardboard tube it came in, kids thought it made a great sword :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 if the water is glowing green it sounds like its a UV tube. Dont use it or look at it till you have doublechecked what it says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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