Any light suggestions for 90cm deep aquarium?

[slimey_frog]

I've got a 1600 litre tank that's 90cm deep that I'm struggling to find a halfway decent lighting solution to that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg.

For now its being it by what were the cheapest 4 LED floodlights I could get at bunnings, and I've recently tried some panel LEDs (https://www.bunnings.com.au/deta-36...qeZFOEfwwBUMyp3EljOTXJsHPVwjdShQ5y4miiQtE8Bzt) that I don't really think are going to cut it either.

I'm not looking to do complex or demanding plants (not even sure the fish would allow them), java fern/anubias at the most, but I'm looking for recommendations for decently bright lighting at that depth that aren't going to cost me as much as a kessil setup.

 

[phreeflow]

For a tank that large, nothing beats a Kessil. I was going to suggest led shop lights but it seems you already have. Another option is to try some Par38 bulbs. You could try something like this that’s readily available and pretty bright
https://a.co/d/ezoSjsV

Or you could even try something like this, Par38 grow lights that put out way more light

Amazon.com

 

[slimey_frog]

For a tank that large, nothing beats a Kessil. I was going to suggest led shop lights but it seems you already have. Another option is to try some Par38 bulbs. You could try something like this that’s readily available and pretty bright
https://a.co/d/ezoSjsV

Or you could even try something like this, Par38 grow lights that put out way more light

Amazon.com

If I could afford it I would, but Kessil's go for nearly 900, which is well and truly out of the budget range for me. I've found someone selling a pair of shb25/120 ufo II (https://shorturl.at/nwvf9) which very well might do it. Grow lights were something I was looking into as well, given that they tend to have a bit more colour to them.

The one concern I have with the shoplights is that the fish in that tank seem very dull compared to the ones in the 180 gallon (which is lit with full spectrum sunlight lights from the LFS). I've moved several fish from that tank into the 400g and the lights seem to be really messing with the colour presentation on them.

 

[phreeflow]

Hope those ufo’s work out for you. That last link I gave you for those grow lights seem to come in two flavors: 4000k and full spectrum

I try to stay in the 5000k to 10,000k range when looking for led’s. However, I found even 10,000k tend to be a bit too stark

 

[slimey_frog]

the ufo's are rated for 5700k, so if I end up going that route hopefully they end up alright. The grow lights are definitely intriguing, it's just a matter of working out how many I'd need for full coverage compared to the ufos (plus compared running costs).

I'm still fairly new as far as working out what light kelvin is ideal as far as fish colouration goes, I was basing my assumptions purely off the info sheets Aqua One provides for their Strip Glo lights, which advertise their tropical ones running in the 8k range, and their sunlight ones running in the 10-11k range.

 

[phreeflow]

If I remember correctly from my planted tank days, 6500k replicates sunlight. General rule is the higher up you go in Kelvins, the whiter (colder) the light and the lower you go, the more yellowish (warmer) it becomes. In my reefkeeping days, I used 10k to 20k along with uv. I think those 5700k should look nice

 

[fishdance]

I use 50 watt LED 4500 Kelvin floodlights (5000 lumen) on my tank that's 2m deep but I'm not running plants. I'm surprised your LED floodlights werent capable. You could try 100 watt floodlights or add more closer together?

If your trying to mimic sunlight spectrum, have you considered solar tubes? You can have one large roof collection dome splitting into multiple narrow tubes and different floors. Only suitable in daytime but enough for plant growth and natural fish colour.