Hello all,

I am looking for anew lighting for my 30 inch 30g tank. I don't want to break the bank on lighting, so I am looking for suggestions on what model lights other members recommend.

I was thinking of switching to a glass hood, but I am clueless as to what light to buy to go with it. I have some pretty fish that I would like to get the most out of their color. I was thinking maybe a duel light with either white/blue or white/pink light?

I am totally open to suggestions. I would like to keep the upgrade are 125-150.

I have changed the bulb in the factory hood, but it seems to be loosing its brightness, so the thought of LED seems like a great idea...

Thanks in advance

I have a marineland doublebrite light on my 29 gal 30" long tank. I have java fern that is doing very well. The lighting is not real bright. I would describe it as subtle. I dont know what would be satisfactory to your eye.
I do have a AquaRay GroBeam 500 on my 26 gal bowfront and the light is much brighter. I like the quality of the aquaRay so check it out.
LED Aquarium Light; Reef Lighting, AquaRay AquaBeam, GroBeam, Cree XR, XG

Hello Tiny...

I use 6500 K bulbs in my tanks. The light blue color is supposed to be recommended for planted tanks because it best mimics natural daylight at 5500 K. If you can get your lighting into the 60 watts range, then you should have good luck growing most aquatic plants.

I have heavily stocked tanks, so I don't use commercial fertilizers. You might consider them if you don't have a lot of fish.

I also maintain high mineral levels in the water by changing at least half the tank volume every week. The changes keep the water chemistry stable and that's important for the fish too.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B

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Low Tech Water Building Keeper

A single tube T5HO (24W) will grow many plants without getting too technical. I use fishneedit.com lights on my smaller tanks. Don't believe that fish provide enough ferts for plants, its just not true. They will grow fine and do okay, but they also do that is a tank with no fish. Plants will do "better" with some added supplementation.

Hello again g...

Lighting is pretty simple. Just research your plants and match up the lighting requirements. You can't go wrong with the standard 6500 Ks though. There was a comment about ferts that I really liked, so will add a thought or two I think are important:

As far as commercial fertilizers go, some people like to put things under their gravel, or use liquids or granules, all sorts of chemicals. Most of that stuff is simply chemically processed. I've played with some of these recently and haven't noticed anything wonderful happening long term and some of them have been pretty nasty. I just don't use them. Fish poop seems to work just fine and I have plenty of it in my tanks. If you want to explore the chemical versions, I would say great, every tank's water is different, go with whatever works. But really, if there was a fert out there that was really good, then everyone would be using it.

I'd say experiment and if you find something really, really good, please let me know.

B

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Low Tech Water Building Keeper

What some don't realize is it all has to do with the light. The higher the light, the higher the need for nutrients whether it be CO2, nitrates, potassium, phosphates, iron, etc..

Every single thing evolves around the light.

Thank you guys for your replies.

What type of hood do you currently have?

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30 Gal breeder: 2 Honey Gouramis, 3 Sterbai Corries, 8 Black-Skirt Tetras, 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Common Pleco (temporary home) and 2 Nerite Snails
10 Gal SW - Still cycling

It would help to know if your planning on lighting a fish only tank or one with plants.So many members here have planted tanks we forget that not everyone does.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

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It's an LED fixture, which will be the best both for aesthetics and efficiency; the design is sleek and LEDs operate at cooler temperatures, lower power, and last longer, while at the same time putting out just as much light as a T5 or even T5HO (haven't gotten my light meter out to verify, I'm just basing off of visual observations). I have the smaller 18"-22" freshwater bright version and my plants are growing spectacularly in it. The only downside to the fixture is that the moonlights (the 6 actinic LEDs) are not automatically controlled - you have to throw the switch to switch on the moonlights. I just go without the moonlights and put the daylights on a timer.

I think they also do free shipping, and $40 is a steal for any type of lighting aside from a T8.

Hope this helps!

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

I think the LED fixture mentioned above is the best deal cost wise now and in the long run with the low wattage that it uses! I intend on purchasing one for my tank in the near future now, thanks for the link!

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30 Gal breeder: 2 Honey Gouramis, 3 Sterbai Corries, 8 Black-Skirt Tetras, 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Common Pleco (temporary home) and 2 Nerite Snails
10 Gal SW - Still cycling