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Light levels too high?

Londinium

Seedling
Joined
8 Jan 2009
Messages
17
Location
London
Hi All,

Got a bit of an odd problem...my tank is quite an odd size...24" x 8" x 8". Its my first ever tank and has proved quite a challenge. My main problem (I think) is too much light. I wanted the best lighting etc so opted for T5..the lowest wattage I could find is 24W. As my tank is so shallow I think the light levels are too high for my fish who continually hide in their bogwood cave (green neons). I placed sheets of paper over the tank to test this....as soon as the light levels lowered out came my fish!

Does anyone know of the easiest way to reduce the light levels without changing the spectrum...the only thing I can think of is to get a sheet of neutral density filter and lay this over the tank...any thought on this...or even does anyone know if this is the lowest wattage T5 tube for a 24" long tank.

Many Thanks, Sam
 
This sounds exactly like me a few years back!

I had exactly the same tank, with a 3x24w luminary over the top (only ran it with one 24w tube though) and green neons (still got them). Anyway, I know what you mean about the too much light, I had the same problem, the only way I found to sort it was to DIY a stand and hang the lights a good foot above the tank. That allowed the light to disperse enough before reaching the tank. Could you hand it from the ceiling?

Hope that helps.

Sam (ditto! :))
 
Unfortunately that wont work...me flat is about as small as me tank!

Did you have any algae issues with such high light and shallow tank? I have bogwood in mine and have a covering of green filamentous algae on it, but only on those bits of wood that receive the highest light levels...I actually dont mind it as it looks quite pretty, believe it or not! (The rest of the tank is completely algae free, I dose with liquid pot nitrate and pot phosphate and have CO2 injection).
 
Hey Sam, not sure if you'll read this but was just wondering what plants you had in your tank that was the same size as mine?

:) Sam
 
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