Lighting in a South American tank

[LittleParr]

as previously posted, I'm stocking a 33gal with South American species like discus, angels, and tetras, etc. I'm thinking of going with florescent lighting, but for these species I'm assuming it has to be subtle. What would anyone recommend in terms of lighting which would bring out their wonderful colours but not overpower them?

 

[Purrbox]

As long as you aren't planning to plant the aquarium the stock lighting will be fine. You can try different color ratings to see which ones create the effect that you want. For bringing out fish colors, a bulb closer to 10000K would work well.

 

[LittleParr]

thanks..what do you mean by stock lighting, and how do you check colour ratings?

 

[Purrbox]

Stock lighting is the fixture that normally comes with an aquarium. The color rating is generally printed on the bulb and the packaging and is listed as Kelvins (the K behind the number). Also no need to buy expensive aquarium bulbs, the ones you get at the hardware store are generally just as good if not better. Just make sure that the color temperature is appropriate.

 

[jrp1588]

haha, I wouldn't call my lighting subtle on my south american tank. I have a 65watt compact fluorescent strip over mine

 

[Phoenixphire55]

I'd eventually like to do a semi-densely planted Amazon river tank so I'd need fluorescents. I dont know anything about lighting, so what would be appropriate for that? The tank would probably be a 50 gallon, or maybe a little smaller. I'd have cories, mollies, a pleco, some apistos, and maybe some angels. Any really specific suggestions for lighting?

 

[jrp1588]

I really like my compact fluorescent but you have to pay dearly for them. A regular florescent light does not produce enough light for most aquatic plants. Compact florescent puts out a lot more light.

Aquarium Power Compact Strip Lights at Big Al's Online

That's where I bought mine, I got a coralife strip.

 

[mom2reds]

If you are looking at light fixtures check out catalinaaquarium.com they realy have great prices and really good coustomer sevices

 

[pitt420dude]

You also may check out tri-city tropical aquarium. They have some really reasonably priced refurbs for cheap.

 

[jrp1588]

well dang, I wish I had known about that catalina aquarium place when i was looking for my light. I'd have myself a high light setup instead of a medium/high

 

[Jarred Darque]

If you are going to do a REAL S.A. tank, you will need almost saltwater level lighting.

The reason is that you may want to actually SEE your fish. S.A. water is very dark, tea colored, because the water is saturated with tanins (an acid released from driftwood in the water and rotting leaves)

You actually SHOULD do this, most people complain about how finicky angels, discus, and other S.A. cichlids are (including Oscars with things like HITH) The reason is because these fish have very little ummune systems, because they don't need one in their natural enviroment, the tanins kill off almost all bacteria and fungus in the water, so the fish don't actually have to fight off any of these things.


I had a S.A. tank, it nis still set up the same, but stocking is from around the world now. The water gets very dark and with teh stock ligthing, I could barely see my fish, I now run 2 4' T5 lights and is barely did the trick. This is another reason that the S.A. fish tend to have such bright and flashy colors, because otherwise they are utterly invisible in the water, which does not hlep out much in mating.

(Sorry, I am not tryin to sound like an insufferable no-it-all, just pointing out that Discus and Angels are not as finicky as some people say, just as long as the tank is set up how their natural enviro is, which, is what you are asking about is lighting for that enviro.)

 

[LittleParr]

I am thinking of going with a black coloured gravel to really show the neons and the other tetras (and possibly the discus). Is this a good choice for lighting and helping to show their colours?

 

[happygirl65]

Black does show them off well, plants help (even if they are fake ones) to give the fish (discus especially) a place to feel safe. Though IMO a 33 gallon is not very large for too many fish, if you plan on upgrading as the discus grow it should be fine.

Just from my own experience if you plan on keeping angels and discus, make sure the angels are smaller than the discus or they may never get any food.

How much light do you have over this tank Little Parr?

I like the 10,000k color of lights as it seems more white and bright to me. The "grow bulbs" you can get seem more pink. If you stick with 30 watts or less over your tank (if you have no live plants) you should be able to see them well and avoid major algae problems.
Like Purrbox said, the light that came with the tank is probably fine unless you are wanting to add live plants.

 

[LittleParr]

so, if i wanted to grow some plants, what would be a good substrate? also, what's the scoop on using peat? I also posted about blackwater extract..does this help?

 

[happygirl65]

Well it depends a lot on how much light, whether you want to have low tech or hightech etc. Check out the planted tank section...there are a lot of sticky's there to help you make some decisions and loads of great information about lighting etc.

Blackwater extract is not something I have ever used so I can't answer that but as far as the "need" for it...unless you are acquiring wild caugh species, most domestic bred fish have never experienced it and live just fine without.
Some will use peat or driftwood (or both) to naturally lower the pH and tint the water.

My discus and angels (in different tanks) are not bothered by the high light as they have lots of plants to hide in when necessary, which seems to make them not feel the need to hide at all.

I guess the point is fish are pretty adaptable, but if you are getting some wild caught fish, do try to duplicate their natural environment.