Shallow Tank Lighting

[sairving]

My UNS 60s has been setup since October. Initially, I put my fluval Nano on the tank and called it good. After months of playing around with the lighting (brightness and photoperiod), I think it's time to try a different light. 

No matter how dim or how short the photo period is, I get tons of algea directly under the light.   

Hanging the light is not an option, it must be customizable, and dimmable. Has anyone tried chihiros or Twinstar lights? 

Other thoughts? Maybe something on a goose neck? 

 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Gotta love the shallow tanks where par is at max!

I can’t comment on the Twinstar or Chihiros, but I would imagine you’d run into similar issues. The tank being shallow simply means that you’re just blasting out the tank with light. 
 

Personally, I would dim the light, move the light up(I know you said hanging isn’t an option, but perhaps you can move it up somehow?) or add floaters to the tank. Or any combo of those. All of those things will decrease light intensity, and hopefully help you find balance. I also can’t help but wonder if switching lights would be helpful considering Fluval lights are pretty customizable. But what do I know. I’ve only played with a single Fluval light on my cube. 
 

As far as goosenecks go, I’ve had these on my 20 long for about a year and a half now:

I got them on Amazon. I don’t remember the brand, but they’re dimmable and I was going for more of a spotlight look on this Blackwater tank. I like that it’s bright right under the lights, but gets pretty dark in the corners. You can see from the first picture that I still get algae on the lid directly below the light. And that’s with the lights turned down and a bunch of tannins in the water. No real algae in the tank, though. 
 

I’ve been thinking about doing something different with this tank. I don’t know what I want to do yet, so I’m not making any purchases, but I’m kind of in the same boat. I’ll definitely try these lights as I don’t even know what they’d look like in an environment without the tannins. Maybe I’ll have to turn them up, maybe I’ll have to dim them further. Who knows! Best of luck getting your light right! That shallow tank looks pretty rad!

[sairving]

@AllFishNoBrakes yeah, I looked at the Chihiros and Twinstars last night online. Only the more expensive versions of those lights are dimmable. I have a finnex planted plus clip that will still blast one section with light. 

Maybe somebody on ebay or Etsy is selling a taller 3D printed arm for the light. 

I really do love this tank. If I didn't have a cat who likes to sit on top of the tank, I would try growing emersed plants. Sophie would think hanging lights are toys. Bad enough she thinks fish food containers are fun to play with. 

 

 

[Scaperoot]

Of all my tanks, the one with the best growth for my plants has been the 5 gallon shallow. We hung a cheap Hygger light above the tank, tied to the rack. I added root tabs on initial setup, and I only keep a few endlers in there. The same crypts that struggle in other tanks have grown two to three times as big in the shallow. The light is on for 8-10 hours daily. I had some green hair algae a month ago, but it hasn't come back.  I know you don't want to hang a light, but you don't have to go with an expensive light to get results. 

Edited August 6 by Scaperoot

[sairving]

@Scaperoot 

My main worry with hanging a light is my cat will think it's the greatest toy ever....at 3am lol. 

I did find a few hanging kits that basically mount on the rim of the tank. 

[johnnyxxl]

On 8/5/2024 at 10:56 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Gotta love the shallow tanks where par is at max!

I can’t comment on the Twinstar or Chihiros, but I would imagine you’d run into similar issues. The tank being shallow simply means that you’re just blasting out the tank with light. 
 

Personally, I would dim the light, move the light up(I know you said hanging isn’t an option, but perhaps you can move it up somehow?) or add floaters to the tank. Or any combo of those. All of those things will decrease light intensity, and hopefully help you find balance. I also can’t help but wonder if switching lights would be helpful considering Fluval lights are pretty customizable. But what do I know. I’ve only played with a single Fluval light on my cube. 
 

As far as goosenecks go, I’ve had these on my 20 long for about a year and a half now:

I got them on Amazon. I don’t remember the brand, but they’re dimmable and I was going for more of a spotlight look on this Blackwater tank. I like that it’s bright right under the lights, but gets pretty dark in the corners. You can see from the first picture that I still get algae on the lid directly below the light. And that’s with the lights turned down and a bunch of tannins in the water. No real algae in the tank, though. 
 

I’ve been thinking about doing something different with this tank. I don’t know what I want to do yet, so I’m not making any purchases, but I’m kind of in the same boat. I’ll definitely try these lights as I don’t even know what they’d look like in an environment without the tannins. Maybe I’ll have to turn them up, maybe I’ll have to dim them further. Who knows! Best of luck getting your light right! That shallow tank looks pretty rad!

Those are similar to something MD Aquatic used early on maybe you can check his older stuff out and see how his looked in a more standard tank 

[sairving]

I ordered a chihiros B 60. It comes with a Bluetooth controller for dimming the light setting the photo period. The risers slip over the rim of the tank. It should be relatively cat proof. 

I have used nicrew lights before but had 3 fail over 6 months. I also couldn't see spending $150 for a fluval 3.0 that would require purchasing risers off of Etsy.