Cutting back on light?

[lilsilkk1112]

I want to subdue the light to my 10g. tank a bit. I'm not sure what wattage flourescent bulb is in there now, but I want it a bit more dim.

What type of light could I use that would help me reach this goal? Are there blue or different wavelength flourescent bulbs that might make it seem lighter, but still fit my hood? It would also be nice if it stayed a tad cooler also, b/c it might transfer heat to my tank?

How much $ am I looking at for this?

 

[Jawz]

um if its too much light, just get a piece of aluminum foil and pokes alot holes in it and put it under the light, that will restrict the amount of light, for a messly 10 cents

 

[bluegourami2]

you could also just put a piece of cardboard under the light longways, covering half of the light. That always worked for me.

 

[tetra girl]

shouldnt the bulb have the wattage written on it? You could do what Jawz said but this isnt good if your wanting to save power. that best place to look for a blue light would be your LFS

 

[Orion]

And Floresant lights do not put off enough heat to actualy make the tank water any warmer. If your tank seems warmer than what you think it should be, check and make sure your heater is ok and set to what it should be, or turn it down some. Also check and make sure that your tank is not being exposed to heat from an external source like a heating duct.

 

[lilsilkk1112]

thanks guys... i thought about tinting the glass below the light with storebought tint, but the cardboard or tinfoil seems like an ok idea too!

Can anyone clue me in on which color lights would make it appear lighter although maintain the same size/wattage bulb?

I'm looking for a more scientific answer, but I'm not exactly sure how to ask...

 

[lilsilkk1112]

Well, I took the cardboard suggestion and its a definite improvement. Looks more natural to me.

I measured the light opening to me 19"x4", so I cut out 9" of light by making two 4.5"x4" cardboard sqaures. I left about 6" in the center for light to pass through and 2" on each side (aka, i put one square in the left-center and one in the right-center of the opening). It makes a nice little sunlight like stream down the center, but generally subdues the tank a bit more.

I wanted to do this b/c I read that Corys prefer subdued light and the rest of the fish (5 Zebra, 1 Dwarf Gourami) aren't real picky... I still might try a blue light if i can get one for around 15$. This is the only colored light I came across on bigalsonline and it supposedly will look more subdued and bring out fish more. It also says it can be used for marine use with corals and such.

Speaking of which. I was told lighting a saltwater tank is quite expensive? How can this be so, if all you need is blue 'actic?' light? The lights on big als were around 15$ a piece?

 

[wayne at home]

Because you need a super high intensity - what wattage is your bulb - well for high light corals you might want a 400 Watt metal halide instead. Light like metal halides run 100's of dollars to get the right colour 'spectrum', T5's or power compacts are nearly as good, but about halway in price.
Blue light penetrates water better than red - the marine crew like blus and actinics (very 'blue') as it simulates this better for spectrum sensitive invertebrates. Some catfish keepers however want a light they can use to se their fish in in the dark so they use red. As red isn't a normal deepwater colour the fish will come out as there eyes can't se the red light so well.
Cories aren't too fussy - they're often found in shallow water a few feet deep anyway so they're ok with bright light