Lighting

[Jzehr125]

Hello again.

Currently working on setting up my tank, and I've realized that I'll want some regular lighting. The tank is at a corner of my room where it is away from direct sunlight. It gets some light during the day, but not much, and after turning a floor lamp on the tank to give the plants some light, I realized how much nicer it looks with a light. I can't use this floor lamp, because it gives off a lot of heat, and it's more of a temporary fix to keep the plants alive (plus, I need it to keep the rest of the room bright, as whoever built this room decided that ceiling lights are pointless).

I've heard that 3 watt LEDs work great for plant growth, and that LEDs give off little to no heat, but my concern is whether or not that will be too bright for the axie. I will have hides in the tank, but I don't want the axie to spend all its time hiding. A local hardware store says that they have 1.5 watt LEDs in stock, so I was thinking of going for one of them, but would this work for plant growth? Would this be too bright for the axolotl?

 

[siona]

it might be worth looking at this sort of thing: IP68 Waterproof LED Flexible Strip - up to 100m lengths possible I'd like to get a strip of LEDs along the back of my tank at some point. LEDs don't give off heat and come in different brightness levels (warm white, cool white etc.). You could use a light filter to turn down the brightness if it becomes a problem...

 

[Jzehr125]

That's true, and something like that could work. Do you know what powers them? Do they already have a power source and some sort of on/off device, or would I have to set up wiring to power them/turn them on an doff?

 

[Jzehr125]

I actually did some looking on Amazon at LED lights for the heck of it, and I found this. Technically an under-counter light, but it could probably work well for a tank light. Might be a little strong, but it might work.

 

[morphyrichards]

If the only thing stopping you from using the floor lamp is the heat given off by the bulb, have you considered using an energy saving bulb instead - something like these for example Megaman Products - Tubular Compact 2000 which I'm sure you'll be able to get any decent hardware store or supermarket. They give off negligible heat, wont cause your tank to heat up and will only set you back a small amount of money. (About as much as a coffee and a burger?)

 

[onecrazyredhead]

check out ebay i have these lights on my tanks cheap and work nice too no not give off to much heat. eBay My World - topdogsellers