Another lighting question

[Super_Blueberry]

Currently I have 200-240 watts (depending on if one bulb in my cheap fixtures wants to turn on or not) of t12no above my 100g. There is some hair algae that pops up on the glass and a few of the higher leaves on my plants, but the tank is only been up for a month and I'm still working out the balance, so I'm not concerned about that yet. The lights are on a split cycle, 4 on, 5 off, 5 on, off for the night.

What I am wondering is this: the bulbs are 4' long and centered above the 5' tank. That leaves 6" on either end that isn't getting a whole ton I f light, and it's almost 'shadowy' at the top corners because of this. I've been thinking of adding a small cabinet-style of light to get rid of these dark areas, but what is the best option.

A) get a small 6500k fixture on either end and run it with the rest of the lights

B) get the 6500k fixture and run it all day for ambient light and limit the main lights to a single, call it an 8 hour shift

C) get a roughly 3000k fixture and use like I would with either option A or B above, but because it's not 6500k it won't have a real noticeable affect on the plants

D) some other option

....and what would I expect algae wise with any of the above methods?

Thoughts?

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Super...

I would put in some rocks or driftwood in the poorly lighted areas. You don't need to go to the expense of trying to light such a small area. Driftwood looks just as natural standing on end. You can attach suction cups used on heaters to attach the piece at the bottom and cover the cups with pea sized tank gravel. Fake plants can also be used. Some look very natural. The combination of the driftwood and the plants could be a nice addition.

B

 

[Super_Blueberry]

Hello Super... I would put in some rocks or driftwood in the poorly lighted areas. You don't need to go to the expense of trying to light such a small area. Driftwood looks just as natural standing on end. You can attach suction cups used on heaters to attach the piece at the bottom and cover the cups with pea sized tank gravel. Fake plants can also be used. Some look very natural. The combination of the driftwood and the plants could be a nice addition. B

Easier said than done.