Yogie Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 Hi All, I did a search before posting and could not find the information i was looking for... So my question is what lighting do I use to bring out the metallic colours in my electric blues, red empress etc. The lighting i have now seems to be too bright and when i turn it on the fish's colours are washed out. Is there a special light i can get to bring out the colours? I've seen in aquariums they use a blueish light and it really reflects the fish colours and brings out the metallic look of the electric blues and red empress' etc... I've been advised to use actinic lighting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Johann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 15, 2009 Share Posted August 15, 2009 I personally find that a standard Cool White tube mixed with a Gro-lux tube brings the colors out in my fish pretty well. There are tubes readily available that claim to enhance fish colors but I have never used any of them so I can't say if they are any good or which to recommend. It depends alot on just how much of what type lighting you use to, (fluro, T5 etc). If you have plants make sure you find something that will still give them the right spectrum for growth. Using dark decor & substrate will also help the fish bring out thier colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzFish Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 The best lighting is subjective to your own personal preference on how you want your tank to look. Some people like a more daylight look, others the marine look (actinics etc). For me, I've found that a mix of 10,000K with Actnics looks really nice on most fish and doesnt wash the colours out all that much, thats my opinion and others im sure will prefer another mix of globes. Another lighting option I really like and looks insane is Metal Halide Lights over a tank with 20,000K bulbs on it. I put my marine lights over one of my cichlid tanks to see what it looked like, simply awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 The reason red looks red and blue looks blue etc. is that the surface absorbs all other colours other than red (if the colour is red) which it reflects back. Or in the case of blue, the surface absorbs all other colours in the spectrum other than blue - which it reflects. That's why all colours are the colour they are. So, following on from that, for red and blue to show, you need red and blue to be within the spectrum that the light being used produces. If you use actinic blue - your blues will look blue (probably too much so) but your reds will be crap. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand this. So your task will be to find a light that has a good representation of both red and blue. I assume you have a standard fluoro filling, in which case I can recommend NEC Daylight Tri Phosphor fluorescent lamp products - Alpine Lighting. Get the NEC not another brand of tri phosphor as the spectrum differs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted August 17, 2009 Author Share Posted August 17, 2009 just the response i was looking for. Will have to give that a go. Thanks The reason red looks red and blue looks blue etc. is that the surface absorbs all other colours other than red (if the colour is red) which it reflects back. Or in the case of blue, the surface absorbs all other colours in the spectrum other than blue - which it reflects. That's why all colours are the colour they are. So, following on from that, for red and blue to show, you need red and blue to be within the spectrum that the light being used produces. If you use actinic blue - your blues will look blue (probably too much so) but your reds will be crap. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to understand this. So your task will be to find a light that has a good representation of both red and blue. I assume you have a standard fluoro filling, in which case I can recommend NEC Daylight Tri Phosphor fluorescent lamp products - Alpine Lighting. Get the NEC not another brand of tri phosphor as the spectrum differs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I have the same NEC tube on another tank & it does do a good job of showing all colors pretty well, especially the blues. Got mine from Bunnings for $18 for 4ft tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 The main thing I want, if I can explain it properly, is for my haps and similar coloured fish, to be able to see their colour. By their colour I mean the reflective metal type colour they have, if that makes any sense at all? For example, with the light I have now, my red empress looks almost grey when the light is on. If I turn the light off and just have daylight, you can see the blue and red reflection on it's scales. Does that make any sense? I'm sure there is a better way to explain what I'm getting at haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 I know what you mean. I would go with the NEC Tri-phospur CThomson reccomended If you have a single tube. A combination of the NEC & Sylvania Gro-lux if you have two tubes. If you have more than that you could cover a whole range of spectrums. Most aquarium tubes have the spectrum in a graph form on the side. These graphs highlight exactly how much of what part/s of the color spectrum the tube is strong in. This will give you a good guide as to the color light that the tube will put out. Blue light will bring out the blue in your fish but isn't so great for reds. Look for high & wide spikes in the blue area & a smaller slightly narrower spike in the red area. To make it easy though, go for the Gro-lux & the NEC & you will be happy with the result I'm quite sure. Don't forget to give them some good tucker to help with the colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Awesome The lights i have now were given to me so I don't know what they are, but when i turn them on, only the yellow's and white top zebras look nice and bright, everything else goes pale. I'll have a try of the tubes you and CT suggested, sounds like a winner! one last question, my lights now are t8. will the tri-phosphur be a direct replacement without blowing me up? Thanks for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 If the tube is the same physical size as the one your replacing it will just go straight in & work. Fluros either fit & work or they don't fit. For a guide to what's what have alook around http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm/aid=354 or for more general info go to http://wwwaquarium-lighting-guide.com/ Hope it help you find what your after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Don't know why the dr foster link is so slow. Might be better to google search it. When I first found it it loaded up quick. Have just replaced a tube over my sml Tanganyika tank. I only have the one tube over it & have just slotted in a GLO branded tube called the Life-Glo. It's rated at 6,700k & has good peaks in the blue green & yellow areas. It's a natural looking light & I have excellent colors coming up fom my fish. Cost $21 at LFS. I have several other of thier tubes in combination with other brands & find them to be quite good. The only critisism I might have of them is that they seem to lose thier light faster than most other tubes on the market, so you have to replace them every six months insted of 9 or so months. Here's a link to thier products http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/gloreminder/glo.cfm & be sure to click on the lighting guides at the bottom of the page. There you will find all the information you will need to work out exactly what you want & be able to understand what all that information on the side of the pack means & how to apply it to what you want to achieve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskedman Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Seems all links running slowly. Do google search & type in HAGEN MAKE ME GLO AGAIN. Pick the one at the top of the list. Will get you there faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 well after just getting back from bunnings and not being able to find the NEC Tri-Phoshor Daylight (they had cool white and warm white) i came home and had a look at what i had in mine. to my suprise it was two t5's! Awesome So to get an understanding of what each globe did to the lighting effect i took out 1 fluro and left the other in to see the light it's putting out. Fluro 1 was a red/pink colour! Fluro 2 looked almost green! No suprises why the blues weren't showing up to well haha. So i've decided to go out and try find a NEC Daylight that is T5 and also will fit a blue t5 in there. I'll put pics up after i change the light and you can all have a look what i come up with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yogie Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Don't know why the dr foster link is so slow. Might be better to google search it. When I first found it it loaded up quick. Have just replaced a tube over my sml Tanganyika tank. I only have the one tube over it & have just slotted in a GLO branded tube called the Life-Glo. It's rated at 6,700k & has good peaks in the blue green & yellow areas. It's a natural looking light & I have excellent colors coming up fom my fish. Cost $21 at LFS. I have several other of thier tubes in combination with other brands & find them to be quite good. The only critisism I might have of them is that they seem to lose thier light faster than most other tubes on the market, so you have to replace them every six months insted of 9 or so months. Here's a link to thier products http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/gloreminder/glo.cfm & be sure to click on the lighting guides at the bottom of the page. There you will find all the information you will need to work out exactly what you want & be able to understand what all that information on the side of the pack means & how to apply it to what you want to achieve. just got myself the power glo and marine glo t5 tubes. Will post up pics later tonight and show what they do. Hopefully it's what I'm looking for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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