# Not lovin it...



## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

When I bought the 150g off CL the previous owner included a coral life 4 bulb florescent light. That none of the lights worked. But the fans turned on. So I talked to the lady at the local fish store and she recommended the 10,000k light bulbs but didn't have any in stock.

So I went online found some All Glass Aquarium 10,000k bulbs and ordered them. Well they are much to bright, so since *** already spent the money on these is there another bulb I can swap out 2 of these bulbs for to tone it down some or do I have to buy four more of these bulbs? It has 2 switches 1 for each bank of bulbs and I'm only running one bank, but its still way to bright.

Any advice appreciated.


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

Why not try 6500K instead of the 10,000? Different size since the hood is for my 75 gal., but I found lights for my Coralife hood off of aqua-traders.com. They ended up not having any in stock at the time, but they may have more now, and they may have some in the size you need. They also had a deal going where you can get 4 lights for $28. The discount shows up on your order total.


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestion, Looked on their site, they don't seem to be offering the 6500k for that deal.


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

The home improvement store pantheon sells quite a few flourescents in the 6500K range. But it depends specifically on what light you need. You can always find the standard 2 pronged flourescent but I failed at finding anything with the four prongs in the size and light output I needed. Maybe you might have better luck?


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## MCKP (Aug 17, 2009)

got a picture of your tank with all 4 lights on? And also with the 2?

I am just curious to see how bright these lights are......


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

I haven't been able to set it up yet. Turned on the light only to find out the fans didn't work and some of the wires are exposed and extremely hardened by the heat (got it off of a craigslist deal). So right now it's a work in progress, plus I ended up getting 12,500K and blue actinic for the light since aquatraders was out of the 6500K which was what I originally wanted/ordered. I have a single strip light that's 6500K over my 75 gallon Jack Dempsey tank but personally I feel it's too dim and I don't have pics of it yet. Maybe two 6500K lights would make a bigger difference ... however, I feel that a regular 6500K light gives off too yellowish of a color for me unless you can find a light that is full-spectrum.

I'm trying the blue actinic in addition to both 6500 and the 12000K since I don't like the yellow color the plain light gives off, and I haven't been able to find a full spectrum light to suit my needs. But adding an actinic in addition to a 6500K in your tank may be too bright for you?


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

I can get some pictures tonight. When I turned it on this morning, one of the oscars almost jumped out of the tank its so bright.

Any recommendations for some middle of the road bulbs thats a little warmer than harsh bright sunlight?


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

just put a light diffuser inbetween the light fixture and the water... nuff said!


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

Was thinking of some Auto window tint to take some of the brightness away. Think it will withstand the heat?


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## lmhollist (Aug 7, 2009)

I guess I would worry about it bubbling or cracking ... but then again, I don't know what sort of heat a regular car window would receive on a hot summer day in high noon sunlight. Might be something to research.

I've been considering something for one of my tanks to create a dimmer look. I've been growing water hyacinth all summer long and I'm thinking about trimming up and cleaning the root systems on a few of the nicer ones and placing them in my Jack Dempsey tank. I thought it would look kind of cool to see them swimming through the really feathery roots plus the hyacinth has really pretty purple/blue flowers that bloom for about a day or so. The hyacinth itself should receive enough light from what we have but would also filter out the light that reaches the tank thus creating a dimmer look. Not to mention hyacinth does a super job of sucking up excess nutrients in your tank, so yay for less algae and other nasties.

This probably isn't a very viable option unless you live somewhere like Florida where they would sell water plants year round, otherwise most nurseries would have stopped stocking them at this point.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

How about keep it simple work. If your tank is setup for it, it might be very simple to lay something between the light and water. To cut light before I redid my lighting I laid various strips of paneling on the tank lip to block light. It took some playing to get light and dark where I wanted but it was enough to point me toward building my own light system so I could control it more than just changing long expensive bulbs. Unless there is some driving need for a bunch of light, the fish are used to far less in nature. What I now run on that tank looks more like shafts of daylight coming down through trees rather than glaring sun with no cover. Just a different way to look at the question. :roll:


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

Ok here's the tank with 2 lamps on and a doubled up difuser.










Well doesn't look near as bright in the picture... :-?

I stopped at Home depot on the way home, and picked up a lexan light difuser, (most opague one they had) cut it in half doubled it up and put it between the tank and the light. Still not happy with it,  so took it off the tank put the old light back on and im going to need to get some different bulbs. Just not sure which intensity to give it a dim look but bright enough to see the fish. :-?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Before you spend the large bucks, how about a cheap experiment? Since you have the diffuser there, I would try some black paper under different parts of the light. Vary the layers and how much is covered until it look nice to you. You may find a way cheap way to go that you cannnot get with changing bulbs. Once you get the right look, you can get a more permanent item to replace the paper. That big boy on the left might look real good coming out of the shadows. I love a good thriller. :lol:


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

I might try that if I didn't absolutely hate the diffuser on the top of the tank. I saw some smaller 6500k bulbs at Home depot yesterday, think im going to try those, I think they were only like $8 a piece.


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## Cichlidaevid (Jul 27, 2009)

I've always liked the way the Coralife 50/50 bulbs looked. The colors on the fish really "popped" and it made the holy rock in the tank very white. I don't know how well they would work with plants, though.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Maybe we were not communicating quite as well as I meant. Is the dislike of the diffuser due to looks or a nuisance to work through? The blocking or difuser only needs to be between the light and the water. Is there no way to get it under the light without it showing or being in the way? So many different tank setups, I'm having trouble seeing what your top has.


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

Its not actually a top. It didn't come with one, Its just got some cut pieces of glass over it now and I set the diffuser on them and the light on top of the diffuser so yea its ugly.

I picked up the shorter 18 watt bulbs and tried them Its still much brighter than the powerglo bulb thats in the other light fixture. (so still using the diffuser)  It will do for now. I think the fake plants on the back give the tank the bright yellow color. Will probably try to sell this light and get a 48inch single bulb light fixture and put a powerglo in it.

I appreciate all the help. :thumb:


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## cichlidpastor (Jun 20, 2009)

I've been going around and around on lights too. I settled on a 17,000K light. Coral life. Its a blue light that makes everything look awesome. I think if you went with a light in the 16,000-18,000K blue range, you will grow to like it a lot. I tried the 4,200K and 6,500K and it was just way too bright and the fish hated it. The blue is soft and relaxing, makes the sand super white, and the blues and yellows and reds on your fish explode.


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## Strohs58 (Aug 3, 2009)

I actually have a very dark 50g, black gravel and Black convicts, that I'm hoping will breed. This light really helps seeing into that goth tank. So swapped the light fixtures back, and its good now.

So thanks for all the replies.


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

:thumb: Sweet


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