# Best lighting...



## chris350

I have a 75 gallon malawi tank and have unfortunately been using a 36 inch light. I know i need a 48 inch light but what bulb brings out the best show in the aquarium? I have several acei in the tank along with a few soulosi also. 
is there a specific bulb and temperature ?


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## dielikemoviestars

I just posted the same thing on Friday, I believe. I'll echo the answers I got:
1 light with some blue in it (either actinic or 50/50) and anything between a 6500k and 10000k. The 10000k can be a little dimmer than the 6500k, and the blue can cause a bit of algae growth, but they'll make the blues in your fish really pop without sacrificing the yellows.


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## chris350

thanks, I guess I'll get something in the middle..


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## DJRansome

If you are not doing plants and therefore only care about the appearance of your fish and your tank...try what I did. I bought a bunch of bulbs in various "colors" (not just color temp) from a manufacturer like Zoo Med: Ocean, Reef, etc. But I bought them for my 10G. And I tried them to find the one I like.

Eventually you will use them all as the current one burns out. Meanwhile you get the color you want for your show tank.


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## bmweiler09

You can also return them if you don't like the color, I've done this several times.


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## smithc1986

The 50/50 actinic for a single strip. 6500 or 10000 and 100% actinic for parallel strips.


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## ridley25

I just bought these. Not cheap, but pretty nice so far. Very bright and the fact that they are spots makes a nice shimmer in the water. Not sure what colours you're trying to bring out; my fish are Ps. saulosi and I'm getting good blues and yellows.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/vi ... hp?id=1307

I haven't entered a review yet because it's only been a few weeks...

kevin


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## DrgRcr

DJRansome said:


> If you are not doing plants and therefore only care about the appearance of your fish and your tank...try what I did. I bought a bunch of bulbs in various "colors" (not just color temp) from a manufacturer like Zoo Med: Ocean, Reef, etc. But I bought them for my 10G. And I tried them to find the one I like.
> 
> Eventually you will use them all as the current one burns out. Meanwhile you get the color you want for your show tank.


This is EXACTLY what I did for my 125 when I changed over to T5HO. And ZooMed's bulbs are a fraction of the price of Geismanns and other "high end" bulbs($8 vs. $20-25).


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## chris350

im not having any plants. I tried some java fern once but these wild animals kept uprooting them..


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## xWingman48

I played around with a lot of different color temp models for my 125 peacock / hap tank. I ended up really enjoying a 10,000K, 18,000K combo. The 18 brings out a lot of the blues in the fish without making things look super blue like an Actinic.

I like the more natural looking light.


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## chris350

your tank looks great. I would like a look like that. But with the extra lighting you have... is algae a problem?


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## xWingman48

I do get some algae from time to time, but it's not out of control. I have three BN Plecos in there, and I only run the lights for ~5 hours a day. (They're on a timer to light up in the mornings and evenings when I'm typically home).


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## Spadz

xWingman, totally off topic but what are your camera settings? Wow that picture is AMAZING!!!!! i cant even get anything like that when i take a picture. Do you have your room lights on as well?

Sorry to hijack the post!


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## 60gallon

xWingman48 said:


>


VERY NICE!! :thumb:


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## smithc1986

heres my 50/50 setup. The right side bulb is only about a month old and the left side is 3 or so years old.


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## 60gallon

I bought 6 different bulbs (life-glo, power-glo, aqua-glo, 50/50, 10K, actinic 420) to try out so I can get the perfect lighting for me and in the end I went with a 50/50 and a 10K bulb in my dual 48" light.


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## cichlid_baby

No bulb in particular is going to be the "best" bulb for lighting... there are way too many variables from depth of water in tank to substrate color to what kinds of fishes are being shown off.. and the biggest variable is personal preference.. what looks good to me.. might not look good to the next guy..

Just get a bunch of different bulbs.. try them all on your tank set up and see how it looks to you.. keep the ones that are pleasing to you and don't worry so much about it.


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## chris350

i will try a few different types and see which is the best. :thumb:


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