Low lights for display?

Night lighting! I'm trying to do the same. I was thinking of using two 65 watt actinic bulbs but they also make moon lighting. Check drs foster and smith or ebay, they come in blue, white, green, etc.

I use these on my display tanks......DC

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=CU-USA01652&Category_Code=moonlight

I use the same thing Diablo does, I have 2 over 20" long by 30"T and the light looks so cool its brighter at the top of the water and gets dimmer the further down the tank.

You should probably only light part of the tank and leave some dark so that the fish can choose whether they want light or dark, especially if you're going to have the lights on 24/7.

I wouldn't necessarily want them on 24/7, I just don't want to go over the photoperiod with my regular lights. I'm trying to find a way to extend the viewing time of my tank without inducing algae. Those PC lights look like a pretty good option, I may look for a cheap DIY alternative.

Here's a DIY for you. I had pretty much the same goal as you did, but I also wanted to startle my fish less when the lights came on in the morning and off in the evening. I bought a low-wattage T5 bulb and soldered it up to an old ballast from a dead screw-in CF bulb. I now have 4W of light for an extra hour in the morning and two hours in the evening. I like the results, but I wish there were a way for an even more gradual transition to the full intensity lighting. I'm considering getting another timer so that I can have three stages of intensity.

...or, it just occurred to me that you could just use an incandescent if you want to go the simple route. I wanted the more even output of a fluorescent.

DiabloCanine said:

I use these on my display tanks......DC

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...duct_Code=CU-USA01652&Category_Code=moonlight

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These work great. I have 3 of these in white over my 125, and 1 over my 5 gallon eclipse. Does a great job for night time viewing. Just remember that the lower the tank, the tighter the light. I have them on a timer from 10 pm to midnight, then again from 5 to 6 am (as I leave for work).
If you really want a DIY I did it with some plastic electrical channel, about 7 LEDs, and a BIG adjustable wall wart. Problem was 1 went out, they all went, and at the time I had no time to fix.

http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=220

Perhaps some LED spot lights like the one in the link above. They are 6700k, so the color would be nice. Over all they are not so much light as to promote algae (or plant growth). But they are plenty of light for some after hours viewing.

swylie said:

I wish there were a way for an even more gradual transition to the full intensity lighting.

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Maybe set up an auto dimmer switch with some dimmable spiral CF's?

python said:

Maybe set up an auto dimmer switch with some dimmable spiral CF's?

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Awesome idea. Where do I find one of those? I'm headed off to google right now. I really think this will be kinder to the fish.