Right fish light for my tank??

Question

Hi all. I am looking for a 48 inch long light for my 75 gallon Freshwater aquarium. It is a community tank with Neon Tetras, Zebra Danios, ect. I would like to find the lights I saw several years ago with a purple sort of color to them, but everything I have bought recently (at PetsMart) is either plain white or a deep blue. Anyone have a link to this bulb or know what I am trying to refer to?? Thanks in advance!!

Answer 1

Actinic lights are meant to provide a blue color, which is what you said you didn't want.

Look for a tube made to enhance plant growth, as these tend to be more purple. Also, look on the sides of the packaging on the tubes when you go to buy - most now have some type of spectrum analysis showing the peak color wavelengths (see examples: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1979&articleid=2689 ). Look for one with peaks in both the blue and red ranges. (Just be aware that lights that enhance plant growth are also good for algae growth!)

Answer 2

I think you are referring to actinic lights. They are usually used for salt tanks to simulate dusk, but look great in any tank, I think. We just got two T5 actinec light strips from our local fish store. Ours are made by Helios. We paid about $25 a piece for them. They are great because they do not give off hardly any heat and you can glue the strips to an existing hood. We looked and you CAN'T get them at Petsmart or Petco. Try your local fish store. We have lived in three different states and our local fish store owner has always just ordered what we wanted from his distributor. We have an 80 gal salt tank. The lights are 47inches long and they really look great when they come on!! Just remember your fish will still need the white light to simulate day. We have two T5 whites (11K) and the two actinics (11K), then we have led's that simulate moonlight. But we have corals that need all that... In a fresh tank you wouldn't need the LED's. You probably could get away with not needing the whites if you had enough daylight that came into the tank during the day.
I would just find a local fish store, not a chain store, and ask them if they can order them for you. They shouldn't cost more than $25 to $30 each.
I hope this helped!! Good Luck and have fun!!

Answer 3

the purple light you are most likely refering to is most likely a blue actinic light. the coralife 48inch lunar aqualight will make your tank look really nice. that light normally runs about $250 but ive seen it places for cheaper if you want to search for a deal. It has 2 blue actinic lights and 2 white 10k flourecent bulbs. nicer lighting is never cheap but really make the tank stand out. those are normally meant for keeping a saltwater tank with soft corals but they will make any tank look really nice. Just realize that it has more power than your current lighting and may cause more algae to grow so if you have the lights on timers, start the timers to be on for less than usual and slowly work your way up to your normal light cycle.
Addition you may be thinking of blue LED moonlights they are meant for night viewing of the tank but look really awesome. other than those it could just be some colored flourescent.

Answer 4

A standard 75 gallon tank is completely too small for a fish that is even 2 feet long. I found that a standard 75 is 48x18x21. That doesn't sound right, but that is far too small for any 4 foot fish, it wouldn't be able to move. Even if it was big enough, there aren't any fish that large that wouldn't eat all your other fish as a snack.

Nosoop4u

Answer 5

check out this site and try to call them, I think they might have it
http://www.anybulb.com/

Hope that helps
Good luck


EB