# 6ft ca/sa cichlid tank lighting



## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

looking for opinions on lighting my 6ft ca/sa cichlid tank. the top is all glass three sections there are 2 bars going across the tank at two foot centers. currently lit with a 4ft T5. should i use a 6ft light or two 3ft lights? my fish freak when i turn my light on, so i need something darker? theres tons of tall driftwood stacked they have lots of shade. trying not to spend too much but i want it to look good . i want my fish to look good. so they need to be happy. any suggestions open.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

You can do 2 36" 0.2w led as they are not as bright as tye 1w. You can also do 1 x 48" 1w led in the middle of the tank.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

what is the "W"? is that watts? so i can get two 36inch LED lights that are 0.2 watts each, equalling to 0.4 watts? or i can get one 48inch LED light that is 1 watt. the math doesnt add up. plus the 48inch T5 i have now lights only the middle of the tank, because of the dual overflow boxes. it looks like an imperfection. unless a 48inch LED willl light the sides, i will need a 72inch light or two 36inch lights.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Actually, 0.2watt stands for the wattage per LED.

The 0.2w 36" fixture has 190 LED. So 0.2w x 190 = 38w in total. And it also has moonlight for night viewing. (190 LED, with it, 152 white and 38 blue)

The 1w 48" fixture has 54 white x 1W LED = 54W in a fixture.

I only suggest using 1 x 1w 48" LED because you said your fish doesn't like a lot of light.

If you want very very bright:

You can go 2 x 36" 1W fixture which in each fixture, it has 52 x 1W LED (40 white and 12 Blue) per fixture. So your total watt is 104W.

I hope this makes more sense for you.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

so a single 48" LED light will light the sides of my tank better than my current 48" T5, just not as bright? and two 3ft lights would overdo it? thanks charles.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, assuming you have a normal output t5.
2 x 36" 0.2w will be good if you dont want to over do it.
2 x 36" 1w will be very bright if you like that.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

i currently have a standard T5 4ft lighting my 6ft tank and it spooks the fish. so should i go with a 4ft LED or two 3ft low watt LED or a 6ft LED? im not looking to spend hundreds. just want to know what to look at in stores and on the equipment sales section. thanks charles.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

It all depends on your personal liking. Fish will adapted with your lighting routine.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Consider the cost
48" 1w is 150 plus tax
36" 0.2w is 110 plus tax
36" 1w is 160 plus tax

So they are not as expensive as before when led first in the market.

For more information about the fixtures, visit CANADIAN AQUATICS equipment section. It will give you an idea of how many led bulb per fixture and rather it has all white or with moonlight.


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## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

72&apos;&apos; Aquarium Light 4X 80 Watt T5 HO 320 Watt Reef Lighting New LED Lunar Lamp | eBay

here you go 72 inch t5HO light with 320 watts it us bubs that are shorter than 72 inches... am looking at adding one of these to my 72 inch tank for increased lighting. Fish will adapt to lights...if not they will hide...


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

well i cant get a light from ebay i have no line of credit anymore. so a 72" light is too expensive. and two 36" lights is even more. i will look into a 48" LED for now. thanks gang.


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## Pamela (Apr 21, 2010)

Here's my old 5 foot tank with 3 different light fixtures so you can see the difference between different lights. The tank was always in the same location and the back of the tank was painted black so it was always the same background. It's the same sand in pics #1 & #2, but different sand in #3.

#1 - 60" Hamilton Technology w/ 10,000K Super Daylight High Output T5's. 55w x 4. Cost over $300 (can't remember the exact price)










#2 - 48" Coralife Strip Light. It was the kind with the skinny bulbs, I can't remember the wattage. Cost about $50.










#3 - 2 x Beamswork 12" LED Fixtures. I put these on after the ballast went on the Coralife light because I already had them from other tanks. I think that they were about $35 each for a total of $70. Please excuse the nasty glare and fingerprints on the front of the tank.










I hated light #1 because it was way too bright and made the tank look washed out. I loved light #2 because I found the darkness around the edges created an illusion of depth in the tank and also made the filter, etc not so noticeable. The light fixture was also very low profile sitting on the glass top which I liked. The lights in #3 were ok but the tank was a little too dark with such small lights, the fish seemed to like it though. They were also very low profile. I really liked the blue moonlight feature on them.

If I still had the tank now and needed a new light I would have a look at the 48" Beamswork LED lights that Charles sells. The Coralife strip light was good, but having to replace burnt out bulbs was a pain so I'd prefer LED.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

The tank #2 that Pam has is coralife normal output T5. I assume it is the double fixture so each of the bulbs will be at 28watt each in total of 54watt. You will have a hard time looking for replacement of those NOT5 bulb and ballast.


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## Pamela (Apr 21, 2010)

charles said:


> The tank #2 that Pam has is coralife normal output T5. I assume it is the double fixture so each of the bulbs will be at 28watt each in total of 54watt. You will have a hard time looking for replacement of those NOT5 bulb and ballast.


Thanks Charles, I was too lazy to try to figure out the wattage . I liked the look of that Coralife light, but it only lasted for about 2yrs before it stopped working so I wouldn't recommend it. Stacy, you could also consider doing two 24" LED fixtures or maybe even two 18" fixtures.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

ya i cant use a 48" light because of my dual overflow boxes in the back of the tank they are black and the back of the tank is black so the sides get no light whatsoever with my current 48" light. id like a 60" LED. but if i must, i will use two 24" LED lights to light each side of the tank.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

is there a such thing as a 60" light that i dont have to spend 300 bucks on? it doesnt even have to be LED. ive seen 72" lights cheaper than that. i want a 60" light so i cant see it from the couch, but my 48" T5 doesnt light the sides because of overflows and black tank. i dont want to use two lights cause of severe OCD and im using enough plugins as it is. cheers.


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

is there a such thing as a 60" light that i dont have to spend 300 bucks on? it doesnt even have to be LED. ive seen 72" lights cheaper than that. i want a 60" light so i cant see it from the couch, but my 48" T5 doesnt light the sides because of overflows dont want to use two lights cause of severe OCD and im using enough plugins as it is. cheers.


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## Clownloachlover (Apr 21, 2010)

dude....here is a link to a light...through ebay...for 189.95...320 watt T5 72" fixture that uses 4-80 Watt T5 HO 60" bulbs...you can order the fixture with the following bulb options....4 - 80 watt T5 HO light bulbs 2- actinic (blue) and 2- 12k (white) included (320 watts)
We also stock 6700k (Planted Aquarium bulbs) - so if you prefer them please email us immediately when you order and we can ship special for you
9 watts of Blue Lunar Led bulbs included
it comes out of Raleigh North Carolina....now earlier you stated that you did not have a line of credit...if you want, I can order it up for you after you pay me cash to cover the total amount. I can have it shipped to my US post office box and then I can pick it up when I go to the US when it arrives...we can meet after I get it and you can get it from me then...let me know if you are interested

72&apos;&apos; Aquarium Light 4X 80 Watt T5 HO 320 Watt Reef Lighting New LED Lunar Lamp | eBay


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## Stacy1990 (Mar 2, 2014)

clownloachlover, i like what i see. but like i said in the original post, im not looking to pass the $200 mark. i bought a a complete 90gal setup for that. thank you all so much for your time and effort and willingness to help. please close the postings and i will just wait on if craigslist for something to pop up.


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