lighting effect on fish

[Mr Burns]

i'll try to keep this from being tossed into the diy forum as best as possible..no promises though....

i'm building a 60gal tank and wanted to up the wpg to support some plant life (or hinder, as the case may be with marsilea quadrifolia.) right now in my 29 gal, i think there's only a 20watt bulb, but there's no live plants present. the tank is going to be 54 or 55 inches long, 16" high, with a DIY canopy hood, and will only contain one plant in one zone (marsilea on the right side.) i need to decide on the lighting though, but i have a more specific question about the fish. i was planing on getting the 2x96watt bright kit from ahsupply, but wasn't sure if that was going to be too much light. i think with that, i should get around 3.2 wpg. there's a $100 difference between the complete 2x96 kit and the 1x96 kit. i've read that marsilea can be kept between 1.5 - 2" tall with as little as 1.5 wpg, but will 'good' algae grow in the 1.6wpg of the 1x96, or would it be better of with the 3.2wpg of the 2x96?

real question to save this from getting moved (maybe): what effects does bright lighting such as this have on fish? the other week i was trying to do some videograph of my tank, but the lighting was poor. i took a study lamp with a 100watt bulb in it and set it about 2 feet away from the tank. when i turned it on, it seemed like my fish started swimming faster. is this normal for brighter lights?

also, what is everybody's aesthetic preference on the kelvin temperatures, and what does it do to the color? i want to stay away from that nasty yellowish green color that i've seen some tanks have, but i'm not sure if it's the light causing that, water conditions, or the presence of plants.

 

[lbritish]

Lighting around 6500k is yellow... light around 9600-10000 is pretty white and starting to go blue... 12000k is rather blue and 20000k is VERY VERY BLUE...

I've discussed light at length in this FAQ section before so rather then reinvent the wheel.. here's the Lighting Category... (click lighting category) or... for those that are willing to put up with the "bad formatting" I'll copy and paste the text off the page into here... doesnt look quite right but... oh well...


Q:
What kind of light should I have on my tank?

A:
This depends on the type of tank you have as well as what you have in it. Saltwater tanks and freshwater tanks will have different needs. Additionally you may even need precise cycles of light to enable fish to reproduce or other natural functions. You have options of Incandescent, Fluorescent, and High Intensity lights such as Metal Halide. Further FAQs will discuss these in more detail.


Created: 8/17/2001 5:22:41 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 5:36:08 PM


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Q:
My tank came with an incandescent light. Can I grow plants with this?

A:
Incandescent lamps for aquariums are typically for the very small tanks. Normally 10 gallons and under. Most of these type of tanks can be fitted with regular fluorescent bulbs as well. Incandescent lamps typically give off little or no UV radiation at all. UV is required by plants, algae (beneficial or otherwise), and coral to survive properly. If you tank is so small that it does not have a flourescent available for it you may be able to substitute a desk halogen lamp for this instead. It is advised if you do this to ensure there is some type of plastic or glass cover over your tank, you keep the lamp at least 3-5 inches above the glass and remove the UV filter from the bottom of the halogen desk lamp. This MAY be suitable depending on the size of your tank. (You may need a second one or some other variation of a DIY (do it yourself) contraptions to complete this.


Created: 8/17/2001 5:30:12 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 5:30:12 PM


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Q:
My 30/40/50/etc gallon tank came with a flourescent light. Why can I not grow plants with this?

A:
You are now at the point where you have a nicely sized tank for growing plants and having a nice number of fish as well. Unfortunately your tank is rather deep and the lights that come with tanks are normally 20-40 watts. At this stage you may need 100 watts or more of light depending on the depth and length of your tank. Additionally there is growing debate on the relationship of tank size vs wattage vs water hardness. Obviously if you have a water hardness higher than the plant would like it will need more nourishment (fertilizer, CO2, and light) to encourage it to keep growing or it will die off. Of course there is a limit to the ability of survival as well. Typically they say 2-3 watts per gallon for normal softness of water for fish. This would mean a 40 gallon tank would need between 80 to 120 watts of light. Also if you have floating plants or those with large leaves toward the surface this will block light getting to the plants toward the bottom of the tank.


Created: 8/17/2001 5:36:26 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 5:36:26 PM


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Q:
What does NO/RO, CF, HO, and VHO mean?

A:
When you are dealing with fluorescent lamps you have different output levels of lumens and watts per bulb. Typically lamps are as follows: NO/RO (Normal Output/Regular Output) 2ft-20w, 3ft-30w, 4ft-40w, 6ft-60w. When you get to VHO lamps (Very High Output) a 20watt becomes 75w, 30 becomes 95, 40 becomes 110, and 60 becomes 160. CF stands for Compact Fluorescent (may be called PC for power compact) and is normally a bulb that loops back on itself and has one connector with more than 2 pins on it. The NO, HO, and VHO bulbs are not interchangable with each other and require special fixtures that support them (including special ballast)


Created: 8/17/2001 6:24:13 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 6:37:41 PM


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Q:
What does K mean on lights?

A:
This stands for the measurement Kelvin. It is expressed in degrees Kelvin. This is used to rate the color temperature. Lights in the range of less than 4300K are considered warm (red/orange/yellowish), 5000-6000K is considered daylight bulbs (yellow-white to blue-white) and 10,000K is typically very blue-white. Those of 12,000 to 20,000K (rare but available) are very blue and are best used for very very deep water tanks that is suplemented by a 6500-10,000K bulb and/or VHO fluorescents for color correction to a more "natural" tone.


Created: 8/17/2001 6:39:14 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 6:39:14 PM


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Q:
What degrees K does an incandescent bulb have?

A:
Typically an incandescent bulb is in the area around 2700K. This normally makes plants and fish look red or yellowish.


Created: 8/17/2001 6:46:27 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 6:46:27 PM


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Q:
How many watts of light do I need for plants?

A:
Typically they rate 2-3 watts per gallon as the rule of thumb. This does not take into consideration the efficiency of the lights, and other factors in the tank. For example a 175 watt Metal Halide lamp is two times as bright as the same amount of Fluorescent bulbs. A better measurement is that of PAR (Photosyntehetic Active Radiation) but unfortunately PAR meters are expensive and generally unavailable. Also almost no bulbs are shipped with PAR ratings.


Created: 8/17/2001 6:50:11 PM / Last Updated: 8/17/2001 6:56:30 PM


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Q:
I have a Marineland Hex 5 aquarium. Is there a fluorescent bulb that will fit in my tank?

A:
Yes there is. The light that comes with it originally is a very low wattage with little UV. There is a special bulb made for aquariums (the light spectrum is more of a blue-white natrual color then the very yellow ones that are sold as long life power compact "regular light bulb shaped" bulbs for your standard lamps. Those made for the regular lamps also sometimes may not fit the socket. Check out the AGA Mini Compact Aquatic Bulb for more information.


Created: 5/17/2003 10:01:12 PM / Last Updated: 11/14/2003 11:25:05 PM


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[Allivymar]

lbritish; great info! Mind if I use it elsewhere?

 

[Mr Burns]

there are some bulbs that i have tried that add an odd purplish hue that makes the tank not look good at all imo. i don't remember what kind it was (besides being 20watts.) any idea what kind of it might have been so i can avoid it?

 

[lbritish]

those bulbs are probably 03 actinic... special wavelength for deep water penetration for corals and stuff usually... I use one on my tank with a lot of regular spectrum wattage to "adjust the color" so it isnt as yellow.. makes it a little more whitish because of the ratio...most places have them either whole actinic or as 50/50 power compacts with daylight and actinic split down the middle and it does get a bit blue/purple... Usually they work best with 1 100% daylight to 1 50/50 ratio... but only if you have them right behind each other front to back... if it's two bulbs side by side then it looks kinda stupid

In regards to "using my faq questions" elsewhere... all I ask is if they are included elsewhere then the questions and answers that are used please just credit me for those you use... and let me know where you dumped them off so I know that's where they went... If someone wants to rework it into an article for this site or something else like that here by all means go for it... just would like you to reference in it that you based it on something I wrote in a message here if you reword it from the Q/A format *shrug*