UVA lighting?

[JamieDarby]

Hi,

I noticed that when my fish are in the sun their colours come up 10x better that with the light in the tank. The tank light it just standard and come with the tank. If I change the light to a UVA bulb would this increase the colour of the fish without harming them and plants?

Thanks,

Jamie

[F15hguy]

hrmmm I have always noticed that fish under natural lights have better colours, even when brought under artificial lighting, have a look for research about the effects of UVA on fish. but if you just want brighter colours then try picking standard aquarium lights with spectrum that match your fish (i.e. higher in pinks and blues to bring out the pinks and blues in your fish, higher in yellows and greens to bring out the plants and yellow coloured fish) most light bulbs have a small spectrum graph on the side of the packaging.

[David R]

Do some research into arowana tanning, that's proabbly about the closest thing in the hobby to people trying to replicate the effects of natural sunlight on a fish.

[JamieDarby]

Thanks for your replies, I will start researching.

Thanks,

Jamie

[spoon]

Look for a tube with a high CRI . CRI is colour rendition index and refers to the percentage of the viible light spectrum the tube puts out. Sunlight is 100 , a Philips graphica t8 tube is 98 so will bring out the most natural colours in the fish . You may how ever find it a bit too yellow looking which can be offset by using a blue tube, any blue tube will do doesn't have to be a marine one