# Recommend a light for an 8 gallon Ebi?



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi All,

My son's light experiment is wrapping up and soon I will have 2 Fluval Specs available. He will give one to the school and I am thinking of setting one up in my room. 

The Spec's stock light worked just fine for many plants, his experiment showed, but I want to put an Ebi light on it because I find the Spec dark with its black background and the black Tahitian moon sand that he used in it.

That means that I'm looking for a new light for my 8 gallon Ebi or 6 gallon Aquastyle. I'd like to try something different, maybe an LED. It should be good for ordinary aquarium plants but does not need to be bright enough for dwarf hairgrass or anything fancy. During my son's experiment, I noticed that LED light makes water look luminous and clear, so I'd be interested in trying something in an LED light, but not in the $200 range.

Do you have any recommendations?

Thanks,
Maureen


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yup, this one: Ecopico LED Arm Light - Ocean Aquatics Ltd.

I wanted that one before I got the AquaRay.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, I've never heard of the EcoPico! Thanks, 2wheelsx2!


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

I was looking at this one as a future replacement when my Ebi's light explodes:









It's the Beamswork nano clamp-on 9w LED fixture from Charles... $55. 
CANADIAN AQUATICS

Haven't done any in-depth research on it though.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I looked at that one also when I was at Charles' and might have gotten it if he had it before I got the AquaRay. I believe it might be too much light without CO2 though.


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Which Aquaray is this and where did you get it? I should check that out too. I know that Ebi light of mine is a ticking time bomb and I thought I'd get my options sorted out before it blows...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Arcteryx said:


> Which Aquaray is this and where did you get it? I should check that out too. I know that Ebi light of mine is a ticking time bomb and I thought I'd get my options sorted out before it blows...


This one: AquaRay AquaHabitats Mini LED (Model 400)

Mounted with the single arm on my ADA:


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## Arcteryx (Nov 23, 2011)

Ahhhh, OK... saw this on your tank journal before and really like the looks of it. Thanx for the link.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks, everyone. Yes, I am thinking of Charles' light, too. It's very affordable and elegant but I haven't seen it in person. I'm just wondering if it would be too much light for a small tank without CO2. 

The AquaRay light looks top notch, but do you have to pay separately for something to mount it? ($40 just for the mount?)

The Ecopico light looks more suitable for a Spec than an Ebi to my untrained eye (at least in the photo). Maybe I should just put one of those on my Spec and keep the Ebi light on the Ebi.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

In order of amount of light it's AquaRay > Beamswork clamp on > Ecopico
That's 12 w vs. 9 w vs. 3 w
The AquaRay is definitely too much light without CO2. The Beamswork maybe. Ecopico would be probably just right, but the light spread won't be as good and you may have shadows. It's also the cheapest. And yes, if you have no way of mounting it, the mounting arm is another $30 - this one: AquaRay MountaRay LED Mounting Bracket (Single)


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

By the way, Fluval will stand behind your Ebi light, Arcteryx. If you have one of the defective units, they will replace it. Once it's been replaced, you only have to get new bulbs when they burn out and they are easily available at AW and elsewhere.



Arcteryx said:


> Which Aquaray is this and where did you get it? I should check that out too. I know that Ebi light of mine is a ticking time bomb and I thought I'd get my options sorted out before it blows...


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

The Aquaray is 6500 k, though, which is a good choice for my tank.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Morainy said:


> The Aquaray is 6500 k, though, which is a good choice for my tank.


Right, that's the one thing I forgot to mention. I liked the colour better. The Ecopico will look "whiter" while the Beamswork will look whiter/bluer which I didn't want.

One thing you can do if you really want the AquaRay is to suspend it so it's not as close to the tank. I am considering doing that in one of my tanks (but with the full sized tile on my 125 gallon).


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Thank you for all your information, 2wheelsx2. 

I remember the days when I would buy a tank, plug in the canopy, and replace the incandescent bulb maybe once every two years. 25 watts x 2 bulbs over a 30 gallon tank. Never crossed my mind in those days that anything else would ever be possible.

The hobby is becoming much more fun!

I have already bought 2 of Charles' lights for the school, a 36 inch freshwater and a 48 inch freshwater. I think it's really important in an old school building (1929) to have good quality, reliable lights that won't draw too much power and won't boil your tank if you accidentally leave them on for the entire summer...


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Morainy said:


> The hobby is becoming much more fun!


And more costly!  But yes, there are a bewildering array of choices for all functions. Even the tanks themselves. No more angle iron frames.....


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