Lighting Suggestions Needed!

[noelllll]

Hello, I am going to be renovating my 10 gallon tank soon and need some suggestions on what to do for lighting.

I plan on removing the top trim from the tank and if possible I would like to leave the top open with no cover.

Also, if possible, I would like to keep the lighting setup under $100 but willing to go over a little if necessary.

( I posted a much more detailed description about my plans in the Getting Started Freshwater forum before I realized there's an entire forum for Hardware! )

Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Brookster123]

What's going in the tank? Hamster? Gerbil? Hedgehog? Plants AND fish??

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[noelllll]

My bad! It's going to be plants and fish.

Not 100% on the type of plants yet (but I know I'll be doing an Iwagumi aquascape kind of thing).

As for the fish I think 6-8 (or max # allowed) Neon Tetras most likely.

 

[ywagner]

Eyyy, got your cheap solution.

I too am very frugal when it comes to lighting so I fd some research and found potentially the cheapest and BEST lighting possible.

Go to your local hardware store and pick up 2 clip on lights, and place them on the side of the tank, then get a "daylight" bulb or something of the equivalent kelvins and you have your solution.

This is what my tank looks like with them

Srry for the bad pics, all I have ATM


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[ywagner]

This should run for under 30$ if not then FIND A BETTER DEAL


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[Brookster123]

They work but they look shotty at best.. are you going to run co2?

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[noelllll]

Eyyy, got your cheap solution.

I too am very frugal when it comes to lighting so I fd some research and found potentially the cheapest and BEST lighting possible.

Go to your local hardware store and pick up 2 clip on lights, and place them on the side of the tank, then get a "daylight" bulb or something of the equivalent kelvins and you have your solution.

This is what my tank looks like with themView attachment 259560View attachment 259561

Srry for the bad pics, all I have ATM


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Well that sounds great! But I don't really know what you mean by clip on lights. A quick browse of The Home Depot website and all I see are either $100 lights or like $3 reading lights

Care to elaborate ?

They work but they look shotty at best.. are you going to run co2?

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Are you talking about the previous poster? The whole idea of getting rid of the trim and hood if to make it look more nice / clean lol

As for the CO2, I'm not 100% yet. Wouldn't that depend on the type of plants / lights / substrate? Either way, if it's necessary or it'll help I'm willing to get it.

Also I forgot to mention that I found a light fixture on Ebay that was pretty cheap, but I found no indication that says you are able to grow plants with it. It's called "Aquarium LED 18" Beamswork Light Freshwater Tropical Fish Hi Lumen Light". I have no idea what's required to grow different plants ( brightness?, color?, heat???.. no idea.. ), so I have no way of telling if that's good enough or not..

 

[ywagner]

Lol like this, they aren't the prettiest but they get the job down very well.



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[noelllll]

Lol like this, they aren't the prettiest but they get the job down very well.
View attachment 259564


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Bayco | Aluminum Reflector Clamp Light – 8 1/2 Inch | Home Depot Canada

Is that the same one? 2 of those would be good for me you think? Should I get 3? What is Kelvin and what number should I be aiming for when looking for a good bulb?

I'm thinking if I were to go with these I probably wouldn't clamp them on the sides of the tank but instead find a way to have them hang down on top.

Thanks a lot, though! So far the cheapest option I've found and if it's good enough to grow nice and healthy plants then I'm sure I can find a way to make it look good too

 

[ywagner]

That's good that you are ok with appearance, TBH tho, 2 might even be too much, just said it for symmetry sake. There is not need for three. The ideal lighting for plants is around 5,000K bulbs which is daylight, anything lower won't be as efficient. Feel free to go higher tho, it will just look more actinic which can be cool!


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[noelllll]

Yeah I think it can look good when they are hanging from the top. I just went out and picked up 2 of them along with some black paint They're a lot bigger than I was expecting though! With the room that I have above the tank they'll come down to about 2 inches above the tank. Do you think that's fine? For heat and whatnot..

 

[ywagner]

Yep, that will be fine, just be careful that not too much water will splash to circuitry.


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[noelllll]

Sweet! Thanks a lot man really appreciate the help

 

[ywagner]

Np


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