Lighting Disaster

Hi all.

Hubby finally managed to do the installation and setup of my lighting for my 4ft 250L planted aquarium. I am going low-tech.

3 x T8 Full spectrum 1.2m 18W, flourescent growing lights.

And it sucks. I am heartbroken.

The tank and surrounding area are drenched in a bright pinkish light. It is so bright, the glare so overwhelming, that I cannot sit next to the tank (which I love to do, it is the reason I have a tank) without shielding my eyes.

Is this right? Is there any way to save the situation? It was a HUGE mission installing the lights in the limited space above the tank, as it is situated in a converted fireplace.

Hubby will not be easy to convince to do another lighting setup, but I cannot accept this as my tank's new normal... I can't even see the colors of my fish or plants

T.i.a.

 

I would try changing maybe two of the bulbs to 6500k lights and one grow light and see how the growth does

 

Agree with Nirvashen. Only use 1 grow bulb and mix it with 6500 K bulbs. The red light is still there, you just wont be able to see it if you use enough 6500 k bulbs. I used to have 1 x 10 000 k and 1 x 6500 K and it worked well.

 

Also dont get rid of your extra grow bulbs. The bulbs need to be replaced every so often so they wont go to waste

 

Thanks that helps a lot. Good advice.
I was feeling really despondent

 

I also think you may have better light if the globes are in a canopy on top of the tank (I use PVC gutter with the tubes inside), those lights may be a bit too high above the tank, remember the deeper the tank the stronger the light needs to be...to have lights so high above the tank you may be better off using flood lights as the light can be focused on the tank instead of flooding the entire area, which is going to happen with flourescent tubes...just my 2c...sorry to be the bearer of bad news but sometimes it is a little trial and error. I had the same issue with the river tank: https://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/threads/the-river-tank.33837/

 

That is a good tip. Thanks, I'll have a look at the thread.

 

I just realized these are LEDs. Does that make any difference?

The tank is custom made and doesn't have a canopy. Currently the LED tubes are attached to a plank, which is suspended from the walls of the chimney above the tank. So we can just extend the chains. I wonder if splashing or condensation from the open tank will cause problems...

I also have an automatic feeder which still needs to be installed. This is a daunting task planning how to not be blocked by the lights over the whole surface of the top of the tank... i.e will there be space to install the lights and the feeder..?

Eish.

I should have studied engineering.

(Edit: I just read through this message. I am moaning a lot. Sorry. I will just have to figure it out. Thanks everyone for the suggestions )

 

I think it would help to lower it to maybe 15cm above the tank, just to stop the light spreading out so much. But having a hood to direct the light into the tank will also help, just put some sort of sides on the plank, basically so you cant see the tube from the side...this will direct the light down instead of out to the sides, hope I'm making sense

 

If it makes you feel better we're all jelly of your green thumbs!

 

Update: we swopped out 2 of the 3 pink for white - ta-da! Great improvement!

 

Thanks everyone. The support on this group is fantastic

 

That is a great idea

 

Glad you came right. Looks great now