lights....

is there a better light for different fish?

i have a power compace and it does great. it fell in the water the other day and survived the dip. it shocked the piss out of me though.

but power compacts can be expensive. is it really worth it to go that route instead of using a shop light? and which fish are you talking about?

if you want good light you will have to pay. spend nothing get nothing

power compacts could result in algea on some tanks. the light put out is way more than is needed on many setups. for planted tanks.... power compacts are wonderful. choosing the right light really depends on many variables.
there are different colors.... k values.....wattages....connections....lengths.....and so on.


sorry chevy, but experts, think that the powercompact can actually hurt your african cichlids.

"Now, a brief mention about lighting for the Malawi cichlid aquarium. The lights should be fluorescent for three main reasons. Firstly, fluorescent lights provide the correct spectrum of light for healthy growth of the fish. Secondly, they do not generate as much heat as incandescent bulbs that could potentially heat the water to dangerous levels. Thirdly, they bring out the natural color of your fish more. However, the fluorescent lighting should not be too bright as very bright lighting can wash out the colors of your fish in addition to irritating them. I find the whiter the light the better. A 10,000K and up bulb will work best."

the above is cut and pasted from this article....... http://cichlidforum.com/articles/lake_malawi_setup.php

Now, I know enough about my tank setups to have choosen good lights for them, but I definitely don't have enough infrmation to fully answer this question. So, for that task I have provided these links, which together should answer many lightng questions. None of these sites/articles seem to be comprehensive guides, but should be adequate ....at least for beginners.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=350

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?c=3578&articleid=1036

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?c=3578&articleid=2400

http://www.firsttankguide.net/lights.php

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/lighting/l/blfixture.htm

http://cichlidforum.com/articles/marineland_aquarium_lighting.php

I use shop light fixtures hung by chain over my tank. The bulbs I use are the plant/aquarium florescent's from home depot

i know light is not really important for cichlids. i do use a blue buld and i would like to think it makes my fish pop but i dont know lol.

lol. i didnt know that power compact is bad for cichlids. mine are healthy as hell and grow very fast