tropical fish lighting?

Question

i want to buy a new light bulb for my tank at the moment it is normal flourescent but i want a nicer effect for fish.which light shows their colours up better.do shops still sell grolux tubes.what are they for.what are the lights that say they are for germs for?i need all answers if you want 10 points thanks.

really good answer with lots of info there i have 2ft tank not very big the fish are siamese fighter females,red tailed shark angle fish cherry barbs zebra danios clown loach white cloud minnows.cant think of any more types.not real plants in tank cos they kept eating them so they are plastic in reds and greens and i only have room for one bulb in hood.

what is a power compact?

Answer 1

I don't know if they still sell tubes by the grolux name, but these are tubes meant for growing plants. The light is more of a blue-purple color that puts out more light in the wavelengths plants need to grow. It would make the fish look better if they were blue, green, or purple but not if they're red, orange, or yellow. What you want to look for is a number with a letter "K" after it for you fish. If you have mostly reds, orange, and yellow fish, look for something around 5,500 -8,000K This light has a more orange-yellow color (like natural sunlight), so it shows off those fish. Higher numbers have more blue tint to the light, so it makes bule, green, and purple look better. If you have both, try to get a number between 8,000-10,000K. If you have live aquarium plants (or intend to get any), you need to get a tube made for plants - thet're more picky about the lighting than the fish will be.

If your fish are dull and you've been using a good tube, you might need to upgrade the system for more wattage. Depending on the size of the tank, they make fixtures with two tubes instead of one.

The lights you probably mean for "germs" are UV (ultraviolet) units. These don't go in the lighting hood, but in a separate (closed) unit outside the tank and water is pumped through them. These emit radiation that mutates cells and kills small organisms like bacteria and algae spores, but don't affet larger parasites. They are quite expensive and the tubes need to be replaced every year to be effective. If you've got a small tank, unless you have valuable fish, they probably aren't worth getting. You'd be better off to get a small tank to use as a quarantine/hospital tank to prevent disease. UV also makes some medications less effective, so you'd have to turn them off if you ever had to medicate your tank. And they don't do anything for attached algae to be killed, stuff has to go through the light unit outside the tank.

Answer 2

The globe your after is Grolux by Sylvania, the good news is that it comes in 2ft lengths (18W) but it is a little expensive, expect to pay around $20 from a lighting store and up to $40 from an aquarium. Grolux is made to enhance the colors of your fish and plants, it also promotes healthy plant growth. A companion tube is daylight star which reduces algae growth and also enhances the color of your fish.
As mentioned the germ killing globe is simply UV... the tubes aren't too expensive but for a small tank are fairly unnecessary.

Also I think a power compact refers to a t5 lamp, its a new gen lamp which is smaller, brighter and more energy efficient, however you would have to change your fluorescent fitting to use.

Answer 3

if you want a pleasant soothing look to your tank and would also like to show off the color of your fish, i would recommend getting a power compact. you can get these at 2ft length and they are just stronger versions of regular fluorescent lights. get the 50/50 bulb which should be the 6.5K and actinic. these are mainly used for saltwater and planted tanks but will make a freshwater tank look vibrant and pleasant at the same time.

Answer 4

Tropical Fish Lighting