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Lighting Help

2K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  Filet O Fish 
#1 ·
I'm in the process of setting up my 84Lx24Wx26H and I was curious what type of lights would work best. I don't plan on having plants or anything special. I'm just looking for something that will really make my Lake Malawi show males pop.

I wasn't sure if I would need to run extra lights to accommodate the 24W and 26H. I was thinking 2 or 4 of the 36-48" double bright. Not sure if that would be overkill.

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks
 
#4 ·
I have a 4' double bright fixture. The light it produces is nice, but the beam effect is pretty wicked on it. Look into an LED that has more bulbs of a lesser wattage spread out along the length of the fixture to avoid this.

I recently got a Current Freshwater+ LED. While I can't speak to its durability, I really like the light and the price is nice. AquaticLife just released the Edge LED which looks nice. Many folks rave about Beamsworks LED.

T5 HO lights are sure to make your fish pop but are generally more expensive upfront and to run.
 
#5 ·
Iggy Newcastle said:
I have a 4' double bright fixture. The light it produces is nice, but the beam effect is pretty wicked on it. Look into an LED that has more bulbs of a lesser wattage spread out along the length of the fixture to avoid this.

I recently got a Current Freshwater+ LED. While I can't speak to its durability, I really like the light and the price is nice. AquaticLife just released the Edge LED which looks nice. Many folks rave about Beamsworks LED.

T5 HO lights are sure to make your fish pop but are generally more expensive upfront and to run.
Can you post a picture of your Current Freshwater+ LED running. This is what I've been leaning towards especially with all their features and the remote. I've had the double bright before and I wasn't too fond of the beam effect. I also don't like how the double bright almost has a yellow hue to their light. Thanks
 
#11 ·
Yep, this is it. I have the lights sitting flat on the glass tops. I have my lights a little more towards the front, so the very top back corner is a little dark, but a couple of my fish use it to hide sometimes, so it works. I painted the back glass a flat black, which I like because the overflows blend in a little better. Picture makes it look blueish, but its black. These LED's have no trouble with this size.
 
#13 ·
I didn't have any problems with them. They shipped VERY fast. The lights do not get hot at all. I move them around from time to time when needing to clean or something and never noticed any heat. I have them set on a timer to come on from 3:30 - 10:30 and work perfect. They also have a blue only mode, but I rarely use it.
 
#14 ·
I just got the Current Freshwater+ LED. Great lighting system and a great price. The remove is great and the programmable custom lighting buttons are a great feature. My only complaint would be that the power supply get really hot. I guess that's why the separated it from the lighting fixture.
 
#15 ·
Hapguy63 said:
I just got the Current Freshwater+ LED. Great lighting system and a great price. The remove is great and the programmable custom lighting buttons are a great feature. My only complaint would be that the power supply get really hot. I guess that's why the separated it from the lighting fixture.
Just got mine a few weeks ago as well, LOVE it, considering previously, I'd go to the hardware store/LFS and stir over which combination of colored lights I want to use. Now, if I feel like more purple then blue on any given day, I just press a couple of buttons. Good stuff.

Hap, my power supply gets slightly warm at best, you might want to keep an eye on it. I had mine on today from approx. 8:30a to 11:00p. I'll keep it on full spectrum all day tomorrow and report back. Just be careful there.

***I'd take a picture, but everything comes out straight up blue from my camera, doesn't quite catch just how pretty these things are.
 
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