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cost effecive lighting for a 60cm

N

Nick16

Member
Joined
13 Aug 2008
Messages
1,758
Location
Surrey, UK
Hi all,

Beginning to plan a new tank and scape in my head and the lighting scene has changed so much since i left the hobby.
I remembee it used to be arcadia luminaires and T5 tubes with everyone banging on about WPG!
How times change :lol:
I am undecided on the style of scape, but the tank will be rimless, braceless 60x40x40 i think.

Finding a decent, unobtrusive luminaire without paying a fortune is tough and i dont want to be drilling into my ceiling either (not my house!).
I like the idea of LEDs as my old 4x54w light got very hot.

Firstly, are there any nice hang on luminaires out, that will not break the bank?

I have been reading about the slimline floodlights people are using, and also the Ikea clothing rack DIY hanging system.

Is it possible to hang the flood lights using this method? - brackets on the lights to do so? Or will they be too heavy for the clothes rack? (Maybe have to have a leg support either side of the tank)

I would assume i would need 2x 20w floodlights to give me enough light for carpet plants?

How would everyone approach this?
 
Ive had a good trawl and would deffinately need a dimable option.
Over a tank of that size, i think im going to need two of whatever i get. Be it, led tiles floodlights.

Its working out the easiest and most cost effective way of rigging something up.
 
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perfect mate. so the consensus is they are pretty decent lights, just a little bit white if anything.

so they are dimmable then via the power cable controller.
will have a look for the best prices and a reputable seller.
 
I've found out that cost effective options in the end cost me about the same as a professionally designed device 🙂 By the time I gather all bits, pay online delivery, etc.., it ends up expensive enough and doesn't look as good, plus it may not last. I don't know where people buy their flood lights but two decent slim line quality floodlights here are about 60 quid, plus hangers that will easily cost a 100 in total. And they are not exactly good looking over a small 60l tank. If their light spread is 120 degrees, most of the light ends up outside the tank....waste of light unless you need to light up the room..

I am not very experienced into the best type of lights out there but I've been using a pretty cheap arcadia classica tretch led that has been growing plants pretty well and gives a very nice colour to the plants and fish. I'd say two of the smallest versions will do a great job over a tank of that size if you are injecting co2 although I use one 18W version over a 60x30x30 low tech tank on 12hrs with great results. . They are not dimmable but why do people buy super expensive powerful lights only to run them at 20% is beyond me....
 
Yeah agreed, i have been put off the floodlight options now, the spill was one of the reasons.

In terms of having a light and dimming it, it just means we have more control over the lighting. Should we need to increase / decrease the lighting then its very easy to do. For example, when i go on holiday i turn the lighting down to slow growth rates a little.
 
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