Lighting and reflectors

Hi there. I have recently started putting together a ~90l (91 x 30 x 35cm) low tech, low light planted aquarium. I will be using a substrate such as flourite (altough i haven't decided whether to try mineralizing top soil first, as commercial substrates are very expensive). Anyway i am planning to use seachem excel daily up until fish are introduced, after which i will use it much less regularly. The reason for this is being a student, i do not have time or money for high maintainence tanks.

I have been researching lighting but have not been able to find a concrete answer on any sites. The question is: for this tank would it be best to have 2x 25w normal T8 bulbs (one daylight and one a plant bulb) or 2x 24w T5 bulbs ( also one daylight and one plant). My main concern is that as there will be no CO2 injection and only occasional excel addition, plants will not be able to outcompete algae if I use the T5 bulbs. Is this in fact the case? And will floating plants help to reduce the effect of too much light on algae build up? Or should i just go with the T8 bulbs?

The second question regards reflectors. While many sites, articls, etc, suggest painting the inside of an aquarium hood white, none suggest which paint would be suitable for this purpose. I have normal black plastic hood and the paint will be exposed to splashes, etc.

Thank you
Colan

 

Hello! Welcome to TASA!

You will find that opinions on the lighting question vary from person to person - there just isn't a right answer to your query. What I can say from personal experience is that in my 90L lowtech planted tank, 2 x t8 tubes in the configuration you mentioned have worked just fine. (one a grolux, other just daylight 6500K). I haven't had any major algae issues - but some algae will happen no matter what. My tank is densely planted though, and I don't dose carbon on that tank at all.

I can't advise on the paint - I've been too nervous to use any, but I know there are members who have and can advise you. Instead, I experimented on one tank and used white duct tape - 2 yrs later it's still good. On another, I made a lining for the plastic hood of white perspex, which also worked well. Just throwing some ideas at you!

 

Thank you. I don't mind algae, in fact I believe it gives the tank a much more natural look. I just don't want an infestation or to much on the tank walls. As for a reflector i was thinking of just laminating some white paper and using that, as i haven't been able to find any commercially available ones. Do you have any floating plants? I am worried that these may block out too much light if I use T8's. Its a difficult question and LFS salesmen aren't much help unless one is willing to spend thousands of rands. Oh and just out of interst, which substrate are you using?

 

found a guy in jhb that has 200+ old flourescent fittings , that hold 4 bulbs each , they include the silver reflectors. he is charging R60 each , so worth getting and stripping then using the reflector .
i am in the process of doing mine properly.

 

Pleasure Colan! Well, I agree about a bit of algae - I don't have conniptions if theres a bit here or there either!

Tank walls are easy to clean - use an old credit card and clean when you do waterchanges.

I have riversand as my substrate, but am always experimenting with alternatives and additives. I don't have floating plants in my tanks, no.

I can't see any reason why laminated paper wont work. Try and let us know!

oh - and update your profile to include your location - it helps us help you... for eg if you are in CT area I can tell you where to get the tubes at a reasonable cost... or in jhb, then byrons connection will be helpful!

 

I found someone selling 1200mm x 600mm x 100mm fittings with reflectors in Silverton. R300 a pop seemed like a lot for me, will see if I can drive down his price.
pm for details.

 

Yep seems bit steep . I pad R60 ..

 

What about normal heavy tinfoil?

Ive allways just lined the inside of my plastic hoods with the shiny side and fixed it there with duct tape or normal iso tape(just ensure it is very dry and the iso tape seals nicely).

Shiny better than white right?

 

Nope white paint works much better , tinfoil is actually a terrible reflector .After loads of googling etc , White paint is very good as reflector , but a proper Reflector better
here are two pics u can see the way a proper reflector works vs tinfoil ...

 

Sho. Big difference. If I recall corectly you did the test on your tank over a few weeks. And documented the difference in reflection?

 

lol not really documented.
Started with standard black paint on the wood , light was not great . stripped off lights sprayed the inside white , huge difference .. Still being virgo was not happy , so attempted the tin foil route .. Light decreased quite a bit .
Ended up buying olf flourescent fittings from some dude that stripped a factory cost me R60 . had to strip them then remake reflectors . the difference is insane . . When I open the hood now you almost need sunglasses . Infact I have turned off 2 of my 4 lights as its just too bright. Now only running 1x54w t5 daylight and 1x 54 aquastar ..

 

I am considering getting some reflectors for my lights. I'll also try to get the real deal. Don't want to sukkel with tinfoil etc. again. Have it in my Nano light. There's a reason why light units come standard with them. It works. Can see a massive difference in your pics.

 

For those who don't want to go the reflector route (aka ppl like me who can't afford them), I used aluminium tape - bought it at Brights and it works like a charm - I dont want more light in my tanks in any case since then I would have to go CO2 and I am not doing that yet. I found the tape works great for low tech and medium tech setups.

 

Try the DIY route. once you strip the whole fitting , its pretty easy to work with the reflective material . I used a whiskey bottle as a rolling pin , then used the neck of the bottle to bend the metal around . then u just drill self tapping screws through it onto your hood.
found the add I got mine from , I am sure he still has , he had 200 odd ! give him a call ..
Fluorescent Light Fittings 600 x 600 | Electrical and Plumbing | Central | Junk Mail Classifieds

 

What about mirrors?

 

Thanks @byronb ! I'll try it.

 

@byronb, where's that thread of yours. I think this was also discussed about mirror reflection.
@The Hitman, If I recall mirrors was not a good reflector at all. Aluminium stayed on top.

 

lol if u want to get technical I think its called specular reflection (mirrors) .
Also the issue with mirrors is mounting them , keeping them clean and drilling holes through.. Trust me I am no expert but great at googling..

 

Pictures of the unit I bought today (after thoroughly cleaning with Handy Andy and elbow grease)

 

Would you guys recommend putting alanod over the three spaces where the white is showing through in the last pic?
The unit is slightly too large for my 4ft tanks, both of which have a footprint of 120x45 (the unit is 60cm wide).
If I get alanod, would a skirt around the edge of the whole unit to focus the light inwards work? Otherwise I'll just run two bulb until I get a bigger tank (wishful thinking lol)