Adding Shimmer to my aquarium with my light setup

nthang989 · 04/29/2011, 11:00 AM

Hi all,
I have a 90 gallons reef tank with some fish that's running the Aquatic Life 6 T5s standing on my tank. My bulbs are all True Lumen and they are two 12000K, two actinic Blue, and two purple. I would like to increase the amount of shimmer in my tank but unable to find anyway to do so.--I do see some shimmering right now, but not too obvious. I was thinking that the only way to get additional shimmering is to add an LED strip, but I would like to find one that doesn't get washed out by the T5s. I don't care much for the par value for the LEDs.--Better yet, none is better. Any suggestion would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks.

tkeracer619 · 04/29/2011, 11:19 AM

Hey welcome to the forums!

Shimmer comes from a point source light. With t5 this is not possible. Most who say they see shimmer are in fact seeing shadows that look similar to shimmer. Shimmer comes from a point source light where the water surface focuses a small amount of it giving lines of higher light that bounce around in the tank.

You can go with LED and you will get some shimmer but it won't be possible to make it look similar to a halide.

Go with a strip of blue LED and see how you like it. You will need to get one that does produce par or your t5 setup will wash it out.

mm949 · 04/29/2011, 11:33 AM

lots & lots of surface agitation....

nthang989 · 04/29/2011, 12:29 PM

I have a lot of surface agitation as I'm using the EcoTech Marine MP40W ES to create wave. The main thing is to look for any type/BRAND of light that would give me the desire result.

Chris27 · 04/29/2011, 12:46 PM

Won't get it with fluorescents - you need either some very bright LED's or Metal Halides.

nthang989 · 04/29/2011, 01:10 PM

I understand that I won't get it from Fluorescent. I'm basically need to know which BRAND of LED would be the best to get so that it won't wash-out when using at the same time as my 6 T5s as described.

04/29/2011, 11:00 AM	#1
nthang989 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 3	Adding Shimmer to my aquarium with my light setup Hi all, I have a 90 gallons reef tank with some fish that's running the Aquatic Life 6 T5s standing on my tank. My bulbs are all True Lumen and they are two 12000K, two actinic Blue, and two purple. I would like to increase the amount of shimmer in my tank but unable to find anyway to do so.--I do see some shimmering right now, but not too obvious. I was thinking that the only way to get additional shimmering is to add an LED strip, but I would like to find one that doesn't get washed out by the T5s. I don't care much for the par value for the LEDs.--Better yet, none is better. Any suggestion would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

04/29/2011, 11:19 AM	#2
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Hey welcome to the forums! Shimmer comes from a point source light. With t5 this is not possible. Most who say they see shimmer are in fact seeing shadows that look similar to shimmer. Shimmer comes from a point source light where the water surface focuses a small amount of it giving lines of higher light that bounce around in the tank. You can go with LED and you will get some shimmer but it won't be possible to make it look similar to a halide. Go with a strip of blue LED and see how you like it. You will need to get one that does produce par or your t5 setup will wash it out. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/29/2011, 11:33 AM	#3
mm949 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: chicago Posts: 1,843	lots & lots of surface agitation.... __________________ 219"x30"x48" - 1350gl reef Current Tank Info: ...18ft of double sided goodness

04/29/2011, 12:46 PM	#5
Chris27 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Virginia Beach, VA Posts: 4,452	Won't get it with fluorescents - you need either some very bright LED's or Metal Halides. __________________ Fill your tank with $5 bills, add gasoline and light it on fire.....only then will you know the real cost of reefing. Current Tank Info: 180 Mixed Reef

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04/29/2011, 12:29 PM	#4
nthang989 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 3	I have a lot of surface agitation as I'm using the EcoTech Marine MP40W ES to create wave. The main thing is to look for any type/BRAND of light that would give me the desire result.

04/29/2011, 01:10 PM	#6
nthang989 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 3	I understand that I won't get it from Fluorescent. I'm basically need to know which BRAND of LED would be the best to get so that it won't wash-out when using at the same time as my 6 T5s as described.