Tank lighting question

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vato

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Apr 17, 2001
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British Columbia, Canada
I have a new coralife 65 watt 6700K freshwater light,(If you haven't seen these things, they are awesome!! Best lighting package I've ever seen!) for my 20 gallon. The thing is that it is far to bright to just turn on for my unsuspecting fish. So what I have been doing is picking it up, flipping it over, and slowly turning it over and placing it back on the tank. I was sondering if there was another way I could do this? I was thinking of putting a piece of black plastic over the top then slowly removing it in the morning? does anybody have any other ideas??
 
you could always send the lights to me and I'll send you my el-cheapo system that's not near as shocking :) I usually turn the room lights on first so they are awoken and ready for the lights. Kyle
 
Couldnt you use a less powerfull light first and then turn your new one on after about 15mins??? therefore lessing the shock.
Or cant you get dimmer swiches for floresent tubes?

Personnely I usually open the curtains and let daylight hit the tank for 20mins (simulating dawn) and then flick the lights on and the fish dont seem to be startled.
 
Thanks for the offer snakeskinner, but I think I'll stay. See I already have a cheap set so I have no need for another! sorry! but thanks for offering to take them off my hands! ha ha!

Well I was thinking about that RobUK, but the first thing is the hagen flourecent light that I have is pretty weak, it has a 15 watt aqua-glo light in it. The thing is that it doesn't even compare to the light that my coralife puts off, so I think that they would still get pretty shocked. Also, it would be kind of a pain to have to take the light off every morning, but I could probably deal with it. What do you think??
 
15 to 65 does sound like a pretty huge jump.

I havent had a lot of experince in lighting but my thoughts would be give it a try that way.
If you have a separte starter unit/controller couldnt you mount both lights in the hood?

Another thought, How about a peice of dark plexiglass or simlar to cover say half of the light, turn on the light, leave it for 1/2 hour and the fish will have some shade while they get used to the light. and then just remove it. Ofcourse you could overkill it by using the 15w aswell.

What fish do you have in the tank as I some are more sensitive than others. I have 2 30w tubes in my tank, Ones a marine blue and the other is a pinkish colour(sorry forgot the names :)).

I.....
Oppen the curtains for 10mins and little daylight (dawn) occur, Next if its winter or an overcazst day the room light goes on for 5mins. Next the pinkinsh light goes on for 10mins and then finally the marine blue. IT may seem a little over the top but I would hate to strees out the Parrot fish (they in particular arnt that fond of bright light)

Wish I could help more, probally best to wait for the real experts
:rolleyes:
 
Best bet is to just use the nearest lamp that is closest to the tank. Turn the room light on for 5-10 minutes before you turn the tank lights on. Or just open the blinds as others have said if you get enough light from a window.

You might be able to get a dimmer switch at Home Depot or something similar.
 
It seems to affect all my fish, but the ones it seems to affect the most are the Bleeding Hearts and the Chinese Algae Eater. They go crazy for about 2 minutes, and I don't really blame them! 65 watts is a lot of light! I also thought that the 12-65watt jump was far too bigm so do you think it would be a possiblity to by a lamp with more wattage for my hagen fixture? I really would like to not have to spend money on a new bulb (because I'm buying a new co2 system($200 CAD, complete & brand new!!) and a bunch of other stuff for my tanks that is gonna run me a few hundred at least. The Plexiglass might work. I can't really open the curtains to help me because they are on the side of the room that doesn't get light untill about 12pm-1pm. My light is only a single bulb(well kind of, the two bulbs but they are connected and have to turn on at the same time. If you've seen these lights you know what I'm talking about, I just can't explain it the way I want to) It's also not always possible to turn the room lights on before the tank lights because they are on a timer (so that my plants get an even 13 hours of light a day). Leopardess are you sure you can buy a flourecent dimmer? I really don't want to wreck my light , because it'll be pretty pricey to replace!
 
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I'm sure you could rig it somehow...depending on your level of handyness.

I still think the cheapest/easiest route is to use the room's lighting. Try getting a timer that accomodates more than one appliance. I've seen ones that have a different time-setter for each appliance. Then you could set the lights to come on for 5 minutes or 10 minutes before the tank lights. Or you could get a timer just for the lights.

Yes, 65w is a lot of light, but it isn't that bright. I run 39 on my 10g's and the fish seem to be okay with turning the lights on - granted I do have a big window in that room that lets a fair amount of light in.
 
Well thanks for all the help Leopardess and Rob, you've been a big help! I 'm going to try and have the room light work to my advantage here. Thanks again for the advice!
 
Another idea....

Why not use a table lamb with a shade and something like a 30-40 watt bulb infront of the tank for 10mins before turning on the tank light. You could hook that up to your timer along with your tank lights???
 
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