# another lighting question



## Aristarchus (May 30, 2003)

hey i got my 125 home today (still need to buy filters, heaters, etc) but i was wondering how many strip lights i should get? it's 6 feet long, so should i get 2 at 36"? or what do you guys currently have on your setups? and should i get flourescent or natural colored bulbs?


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

3) 18 inchers, 2) 36 inchers The 18 inchers would look nicer. And then for bulbs go with the natural sunlight by ge at the local lowes or builder square. It's a lot cheaper


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## FeederFish33 (Jan 22, 2003)

i copied my lighting setup from mattias, after seeing his tank. He had 2 36 inch lights (I'm using 1 48 inch and 1 24 inch) and in front of those he has 2 24inch (I have 1 48 inch). I have my 48 and 24 on a timer so that they turn on at 9:30 in the morning and turn off at 8:30 at night. My lone 48 inch is on a timer that turns on at 8 in the morning and turns off at 10 at night. The 48 is colored purple. It looks pretty sweet. Its the same idea as mattias, with a few minor adjustments.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

I use one 48", 36 Watt tube with a reddish tint on my 80 gallon. Seems to be enough for the plants in there, since they do fine...


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

I only use 2 36" daily for dim light and sometimes switch on a third one!


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## Aristarchus (May 30, 2003)

thanks guys, so mattias's lighting system is basically the same as yours but with a 3rd strip in the front? sounds pretty interesting.. i'll have to go to my lfs and see how much they want for used ones


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

I dont have lighting on my 125 gallon piranha tank


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

nitrofish said:


> I dont have lighting on my 125 gallon piranha tank


 I have lights but I never never never turn them on. Much better for the fish I believe. I think that me and Nitro are the only ones that think this way though. I like to create as little stress for my fish as possible. Bright lights an P's just dont mix.

~Dj


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## JesseD (Mar 26, 2003)

id use (3) 18 inch lights









that way u can make the tank dimmer if u wanted to!


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

InSinUAsian said:


> nitrofish said:
> 
> 
> > I dont have lighting on my 125 gallon piranha tank
> ...


 ya, theres plenty of light in the room to see the fish anyway. besides they have always went nuts with the lights on the tank, so when I bought my 125 gallon tank I just got the glass tops instead of a full hood.


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## Aristarchus (May 30, 2003)

what i think i'm gonna do is... since i work for a solar screen company, building solar screens for homes.. i'm going to make a couple 8" x 30" (rough estimate) screens to mount underneath the lighting.. they block out a lot of heat and UV rays, and still let adequate light get through... so HOPEFULLY this will be a nice little idea if it works out as planned... i'll post pics once i get it created


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