Recommend me a lighting fixture

Does this tank have a rim or not, A pic or dimensions are a must in order to recommend a light...

The tank does have a rim, the dimensions are 16" long, just under 8.5" wide, and like 10" tall. Its a 5 gallon made by Deep Blue.

Would that be considered high light though?
I'm not sure how to judge led since I am unfamiliar

at 10" tall, it would be considered high light.

yeah, thats actually a good choice, I have heard good things about the Rays

Anyone actually have this light?
I saw a Catalina power compact that was the same size, but idj if that would be high light, or how often the bulb would need replacement

All I know ATM is that I have HC, so high lighting is a must, and I'll start off with DIY co2 for now.

I have the 12" finnex fugeray and it's a very bright light. I think you would do well with the 16" fixture especially since your tank is shallow.

now, if I go with this light, do you think I could get away with only adding excel and diy co2?

HybridHerp said:

now, if I go with this light, do you think I could get away with only adding excel and diy co2?

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Since your tank is so small, you might be able to pull it off with DIY CO2, but be really careful with your dosing of excel because it's really easy to overdose a small tank and will have a negative impact on your fauna and possibly on some fragile plants.

I'm going to be trying out the same thing later this month when I get back to school in my 7.5 gallon. I used to use pressurized CO2 but I cant find a place in Chicago city limits to get my paintball tank filled.

off topic, but slave, have you tried sporting goods stores? I use Dicks sporting goods. You could also hit up a paintball park for a fill as well

I need high lighting though, and I get the feeling that wouldn't work for me anyways because I have a rim on my tank and the clip thing on that looks like it only works for rimless tanks, and I've heard that Deep Blue tanks look terrible if you rip the rim off...something about using black silicone or something (shrugs)?

Ozydego said:

off topic, but slave, have you tried sporting goods stores? I use Dicks sporting goods. You could also hit up a paintball park for a fill as well

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Out in the suburbs they do that, but not in the city of Chicago. I don't have a car at school, so I am limited to what I can get to by public transportation. In Chicago it is illegal to shoot or posses a paintball gun, so the sporting goods stores here don't have equipment for filling paintball CO2 tanks. The only places in the city that fill CO2 tanks are fire extinguisher places and welding shops, both of which require you to have a commercial license in the city to use their services and they only fill CGA 320 tanks.

HybridHerp said:

Anyone actually have this light?
I saw a Catalina power compact that was the same size, but idj if that would be high light, or how often the bulb would need replacement

All I know ATM is that I have HC, so high lighting is a must, and I'll start off with DIY co2 for now.

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Just purchased this light. I have a 5gal with a rim and the light fits perfectly with its adjustable legs and sits very securely on the rim as well. I have not yet made the transition to this new light from my CFL. I have put the light on the tank, and it is so much brighter/whiter then the 13w CFL I'm running. Also, the "shimmer effect" I always hear about with LEDs is very true and looks awesome. Can't say for sure how the plants will respond to it but from other posts and things I have read lead me to believe we will see some serious growthroud:.

I have the 16" fuge ray 2 and love it. Its on tank the 6gal in my sig, which is basically the same as the 5g but a bit wider front to back i believe. This does get you into the med/high light range and does require co2. I have to pump a lot of co2 to not get algae. If you don't want to mess with co2 then either raise the fixture(bunch of diy light hangers in the forum) or get the lower light version( theres a 12" but you might have to diy a stand or legs because i don't think they will be long enough or get the 20"). Personally, I would get the 16" fuge ray 2 and raise it up if you do not want the higher lighting. I like to have more light than I need. Its a lot easier to get less intensity than not having enough just in case you change your mind and decide you want higher lihting.

Cool, I've only ever had moonlights before so I guess I can try led as a light source for real now
How wide is the fixture though? Just wondering because I got the filter from a friend of mine yesterday and...its a big HOB but it fits even with the substrate and all so it should all be good. I'm actually thinking about planting the HOB with some houseplants anyways, but even if I don't the HOB is still damn big lol.
Random question...how would I get a top for a tank like this? Or could I just leave it as an open top? (I don't think any of the fish would jump out...I don't think...)
And if I left it as an open top, would I need a splashguard or anything on the LED lights?
Hell, I could probably cover the top with syranwrap if I really need to couldn't I? lol

HybridHerp said:

Cool, I've only ever had moonlights before so I guess I can try led as a light source for real now
How wide is the fixture though? Just wondering because I got the filter from a friend of mine yesterday and...its a big HOB but it fits even with the substrate and all so it should all be good. I'm actually thinking about planting the HOB with some houseplants anyways, but even if I don't the HOB is still damn big lol.
Random question...how would I get a top for a tank like this? Or could I just leave it as an open top? (I don't think any of the fish would jump out...I don't think...)
And if I left it as an open top, would I need a splashguard or anything on the LED lights?
Hell, I could probably cover the top with syranwrap if I really need to couldn't I? lol

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I'm assuming you are talking about the finnex fixture. The fixture itself is maybe, 3" wide or so. The actual dimmensions are on their site but its a very slim fixture, only maybe 2" from top to bottom. Slashgaurd is already built in so no worry there.

Acrylic is probably going to be the easiest if you plan to have a top. Just make cutouts for the light legs and the hob. I run my tank open top and the biggest issue i have is evaporation, but then again, I don't have any fish in there yet, just inverts.

How bad is the evaporation? I don't really mind topping off fresh water, especially considering how I was almost wanting to do a nano reef XD