Two lights?

[_Eric_]

In a live stream a little while ago Cory mentioned that he thought two lights on one tank can give a better aesthetic.  I was looking to get a second Hyger light for my 29 gal but wasn’t sure if it would be an improvement or not.

Has anyone in the forum tried two lights on a small tank like this?  
 

thanks.

[Mmiller2001]

I would get a true RGB light over a second cheap light. It would look 100% better.

[Guppysnail]

Yes I did 2 hygger lights on both my 29 and my 40b. I did not notice a great improvement on my 40 however it did wonders for my 29. 
Something about it being narrow but deep with the black lid hinge in the way it always looked gloomy. Even on the highest setting with rgbw. The 2 lights allowed me better visual at a lower intensity and drastically reduced hair algae on the surface floating hornwort and pothos roots to almost non existent. 
It became very cheerful. Now I have shade loving fish so dropped to 1. 

[_Eric_]

On 8/14/2023 at 11:19 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

I would get a true RGB light over a second cheap light. It would look 100% better.

On 8/14/2023 at 11:19 AM, Mmiller2001 said:

I would get a true RGB light over a second cheap light. It would look 100% better.

What is a good “starter” true RGB light?

[Mmiller2001]

On 8/14/2023 at 10:31 AM, _Eric_ said:

What is a good “starter” true RGB light?

Week Aqua L series.

Edited August 14 by Mmiller2001

[_Eric_]

On 8/14/2023 at 12:35 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Week Aqua L series.

Thanks for recommendation- also what makes a light a “true” rgb light? 

[Pepere]

I run two Finnex Planted Plus ALCs on both of my 29 gallon display tanks..  

1 of them running at maximum intensity in the back was not enough for my scarlet temple growing at the bottom front. The Scarlet Temple was being a bit leggy…

By running two of them I am able to dial the white diodes back down and using more of the Red, Greens, and Blues.

I had bought a Chihiros WRGB2 pro  to try out and didnt like it as much as the Finnex Planted plus ALC.  It was too deep a light fixture on the 29 gallon tank and the glass lid had to be pulled up and forward before opening as the light was in the way.  The app was rather glitchy too…

On my 29s I think I am set with the Finnex with inline Nicrew timer dimmers on them.  The internal 24 hour timer dimmer on the finnex is ridiculous with 3 hour ramps from setting to setting.

 

In the future I hope to set up a 75 gallon after the living room is renovated.  I intend to retry the Chihiros on that one as it has greater depth than the 29..  If I decide I like the color on one side ( I have some Fluval 3.0s to use temporarily on the other side) I will buy another for the other side.  If not, I might try the Weak Aqua @Mmiller2001 references.

the Finnex planted plus ALC is currently being discontinued by Finnex and is limited to supply on hand.  They do still have 30 inchers for a 29 gallon tank.  Word has it that a replacement offering is in the works to fill a similar niche.

https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Aquarium-Automatic-Aluminum-ALC-20/dp/B08LY9G2YH/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3PU5DB3FY3NF0&keywords=Finnex%2Bplanted%2Bplus%2Balc&qid=1692040483&rdc=1&sprefix=finnex%2Bplanted%2Bplus%2Balc%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-6&th=1

 

True RGB refers to only having red, green, and Blue diodes in the mix and using those to make your white light.  This allows you to dial in the color profile to your preference.  Many RGB lights also includes white diodes for light intensity.  This involves a compromise as the white will have a color spectrum profile that the RGB diodes are not able to overcome to get the spectrum you want…

 

While Red Green Blue intuitively might seem an odd choice, it makes more sense when you learn that our eyes only have receptors for Red Hreen and Blue light colors.  All other colors are perceived as the brain processes the information of relative intensities of Red Green and Blue  that is sent to it from the eyes….

 

[Mmiller2001]

Red, Green and blue diodes that produce white light versus just white diodes. Also the spectrum of those diodes cover.

[Galabar]

On my 29 gallons, I use a main light in the back (ACO or Fluval 3.0) and a secondary light in the front.  I use this one for the front light: https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Stingray-Aquarium-Light-20-Inch/dp/B00NAFQ6FK

Basically, you grow the plants with the back light and the front light is just to highlight any fish swimming near the front of the tank. 🙂

It works really well (and is cheap).  I don't use the extra clear plastic feet that comes with the Finnex.  Instead, I just rest it on my glass top.

You can see how the fish in the front are highlighted (I found that you don't really need anything longer than the 20 inch, which sits nicely on the glass top, but they also have 24 and 30 inch models, although the 30 sits on the black plastic rim rather than the glass top):

Edited August 15 by Galabar

[Galabar]

Of course, having two ACO lights would be nice two, but more expensive... 🙂

On my 40b, I have the 36 inch version.  However, if I had to do it again, I would get the 30 inch version.  It's just a bit more convenient to place it on the glass top rather than have to place it on the black plastic rim.

Edited August 15 by Galabar

[_Eric_]

On 8/15/2023 at 4:49 PM, Galabar said:

Of course, having two ACO lights would be nice two, but more expensive... 🙂

On my 40b, I have the 36 inch version.  However, if I had to do it again, I would get the 30 inch version.  It's just a bit more convenient to place it on the glass top rather than have to place it on the black plastic rim.

Your tank looks amazing - Thanks and thanks to @Guppysnail as well as others that commented above.  I think I’m going to give a cheap second light a shot - I have a dream of getting a four foot tank for our living room someday and maybe I’ll  get a big boy light on that one. 😆

[Pepere]

On 8/15/2023 at 5:42 PM, Galabar said:

Basically, you grow the plants with the back light and the front light is just to highlight any fish swimming near the front of the tank

Of course it depends on the plants you are growing.   It could work fine with low light plants to the front….

 

these two tanks definitely benefit from the finnex planted plus ALC on both back and front.  The Scarlet Temple definitely benefited from second strong light.

 

This one however has a finnex stingray 2 for the front light throttled down to 35% intensity with the nicrew inline dimmer timer.  Any more and Hair Algae starts growing with abandon in the java moss.

Edited August 16 by Pepere

[Galabar]

Nice tanks! 🙂

Another place were you might want two strong lights in for carpeting plants in the front.