Add extra light on fluval edge 46l

[Bahamuts]

Hi guys, I am considering adding some extra light to my fluval edge as I find the standard light not sufficient, especially in the corners of the tank.

I was browsing around a little and I stumbled onto this:

Would I be best off with something similar? But then probably a less strong one (?) since this seems to be a little overkill at first sight. Where would one buy this in the uk? Would I be better off with some strips? And what kind, brightness, color etcetera?
I am fairly new into the "LED lighting scene" so I am a little lost.

Light currently in tank = 42 LED bulbs => bright 7600k spectrum
Dimensions are 43cm wide, 59.4cm high and 26cm from front to back.

(Tank has a co2 FE attached to it and I am dosing EI.)

On another note I am not 100% convinced about the flow in the tank, would adding more light potentially create an extra issue there?

Thanks in advance

 

[geaves]

Hi, doing that may create more problems as yours already has the updated Fluval lighting, I do know from reading other forums the the Edge can suffer from light deficiency in the corners, but this can be overcome with the correct planting and scaping. Google George Farmer Fluval Edge, and have a look at this on here, again a suggestion from George.

As to the filter check out this post on the Fluval Edge forum.

Hope this helps.

Geoff

 

[Bahamuts]

Hi Geoff, thanks for the filter post, that is definatly something I will investigate further.

As for the planting and scaping, I have already transfered easier things from my other tanks into this one, since the plants I started with didn't do as expected. And my Cyperus Helferi that is still in there isn't showing the results I was expecting either.

It just feels like a shame that I have to resort back to easier plants like anubis or to very central planting when this was the tank for me where I wanted to go that step further with scaping and plants. I have two tanks with stable healty fast growth. Anubis flowering and the likes. So this was that step extra, I do think the scape looks quite good, the plants just aren't working out and I strongly think it is the light not penetrating deep enough and is much too centered.

I don't want to go back to sticking some java fern on some wood as it were. (not that there is anything wrong with that as shown in the picture by George 🙂 ). But this tank was about pushing the tank and myself a little further.

But on the other hand I am a bit worried I will create an unstable system I can't control with the current filter/flow.

Would extra light bars be that "high risk" ? Even if they would be only on for 3 hours a day, to replicate a strong sunlight around noon?

 

[geaves]

Personally I think a lot of this come's down to what I call 'trial and error', if this were my Edge I would probably leave the light outside the tank and monitor the effects over a couple of weeks if that's possible, then mount it inside.

I have been tempted to buy one of these many times, but what has put me off eventually is the restriction both from the lighting and filtration, thus it gave me the impression that certain plants would benefit more than others, and the Edge would be a starting point. Here's another link on here with some shop display Edge's, the point I'm trying to make is that these appear to be better suited to a more simplistic layout.

Perhaps, I don't know, redesigning the corners and reducing the height of the stone and bringing the plants down might be another option.

Geoff