Hey Ben On all my tanks I have the Current USA Satellite LED lights. They are great lights with a lot of options. Little pricey but you get what you pay for. Yes you can "over light and wash out" your tank, which most cheap lights do. Have so many options with these lights. Can customize what ever look you want. They have the % of color options. Also have preset options like sunrise, sunset, thunderstorm, rain etc. I have a Greek Ruins theme with black sub straight and black background on my 100g acrylic and these lights really make it pop. The lighting, for me, is one of the most important part of setting up a tank. Thanks for the vid and keep them coming...
Great information Ben 👍 A hack for those using tubes or full length strip lights is that you can cover parts of the light, such as the end few inches, with duct tape or electrical tape to create shaded areas or areas tinted with a certain color. TO AVOID DAMAGE: Always allow tape to shrink back to original length AFTER cutting from the roll but BEFORE applying to a light or tube. Applied to a clean surface the tape will last anywhere from a couple of months up to half a year depending how well you clean & apply. If an entire tube is wrapped then it can last a year or more. Cover an entire tube or strip with blue electrical tape if you want a cheap way to see if you & your fish like a moonlight for an hour or two at night before spending on the real deal. The more layers of tape you use, the more blue & consequently, the darker it makes the light.
Awesome aquarium light scaping. With the various options of LED lighting you can really get creative these days. Also having multiple 36" - 48" lights on a six foot tank can be a great alternative to a 72" light and give more room for customizing. 😀
Went back to look at my notes for the display tank Current USA Satellite Plus LED. Looks like I've got them set up at Red = 40% / Green = 0 / Blue = 100% / White = 75%
It like you have to go with what appeals to you. I used to use a 72” but if LEDs go out you have to throw out the entire unit. With several shorter strips you have lighting while replacing the faulty one.
Best lights IMO… The Fluval Plant 3.0 LED is my favorite light. I use it in both of my tanks. I have black backgrounds on my tanks and they are never up near 100% as far as brightness goes…mostly at about 50% or so usually, and I only raise the lights to feed the fish and they know as soon as the lights go up it’s time to eat. I always make my own light favorites, lil bit of red/pink , lil bit of blue, lil bit of warm white, and a lil bit of pure white and kind of make my own look. That combined with elite cichlids plants, and super natural sand really does show off my fish to their full potential IMO. Everyone has the ability to stay in the back of they like because I leave my lights pushed towards the front of the tank always…never in the middle, unless I’m feeding, and never towards the back. I like the depth it creates with the lights in the front and also IMO really shows off the fish the best and as stated gives them that comfort of being able to hide in a plant, or just chill in the back if they’d like👌🏼
Sean. I, too, have the same light as well as Elite Cichlid plants. Do you have a problem with the brown algae forming on the plants often? I have been told that the light settings may be part of the culprit. I may need to adjust mine to prevent the rapid build up of the brown algae on my plants. Looking for any advice you may have since you have a similar setup to my own tank.
@@NittanyFins I get it once in a while. But not on just the plants, on some of the rocks and glass as well, I’m pretty good with water changes and just maintenance in general. Chemi pure elite seems to help keep it somewhat controlled. But if I’m not on top of maintenance it can spiral out of control.
I have a fluval smart skylight for plants and another one for saltwater both have 4+ lights that they give you control of each light color plus they r Bluetooth so they allow you to set it to come on and off or have a sun rise/set setting
Ben u need to check out the current usa orbit ic led light w bluetooth control u can control it w an app on ur phone it has 4 colors to adjust from 0-100% blue white red green & also controls for 3 powerheads & 2 water pumps it has 12 weather effects including rain thunder & lightning & u can even hook up speakers to hear the thunder
Nice video Ben. I use the Fluval aquasky lights, they also have a yellow/green spectrum. I set them 80% blue and red, 40% yellow and only 10 to 20% white. When the lights are on 6 to 8 hours a day.that’s really bright enough. Btw did you know fish have trouble with their vision when using red? It comes in handy when you need to catch one, turn on red light and they will be slower 😄
I have 2 4 foot nicrew lights on my 90 set on the second lowest setting I find that perfect. 1 light looked odd on full blast and wasn't enough light in the back of the tank for the plants.
Hello, what plants are these? I'm just planting my first fish tank, and I will have anubias because I read that this and java ferm are best for african cichlids. But you've got something else, and it looks very cool (I guess your fish did not destroy it😂). Thanks
very useful.i need a advise sir.my tank is 3 feet 2 by 2.parot are severum are there.i have a 3 feet dophin light in front.what do you sujest to add furthur more to get coloures of the fish pleese
Well Ben I just don’t understand the struggle with these cichlids. So I told you about the eureka red and when I added him to my 55 he’s the largest fish in the tank but he was not the aggressor. And I had to pull one fish out that was beating on him and then another one died and not him. What am I doing wrong ?!
ACs can be frustrating. Move the decor around and lower the temp a few degrees and see if that helps. Any fish with a lot of fin damage should get pulled or he’ll get killed while the lights are off.
@@BenOchart well 1 died on me then I had to remove 2 just to keep eureka red they were picking on him. And it just baffles me cause the red is largest in the tank. And it’s a male only tank now so hoping that helps
Hey Ben. I believe your decor is the cause of your aggression. Seems like they have claimed territories. The light blue, livingstoni, has claimed the bottom right of the tank. The dragonblood has claimed the bottom left. They are constantly getting bullied from each side of the tank. I recommend removing all decor. So they establish their hierarchy and do not create territories. This should tone the aggression down. Good luck
Hey Ben On all my tanks I have the Current USA Satellite LED lights. They are great lights with a lot of options. Little pricey but you get what you pay for. Yes you can "over light and wash out" your tank, which most cheap lights do. Have so many options with these lights. Can customize what ever look you want. They have the % of color options. Also have preset options like sunrise, sunset, thunderstorm, rain etc. I have a Greek Ruins theme with black sub straight and black background on my 100g acrylic and these lights really make it pop. The lighting, for me, is one of the most important part of setting up a tank. Thanks for the vid and keep them coming...
Good morning. Been waiting for a video like this. You must have gotten up early this morning
Truth is that you can upload a video and set the time you want it to appear😉😀👍🏻
I really like the look of a black background with the lighting in the foreground .
Yes, makes the fish colors POP 😀👍🏻
Great information Ben 👍
A hack for those using tubes or full length strip lights is that you can cover parts of the light, such as the end few inches, with duct tape or electrical tape to create shaded areas or areas tinted with a certain color.
TO AVOID DAMAGE: Always allow tape to shrink back to original length AFTER cutting from the roll but BEFORE applying to a light or tube.
Applied to a clean surface the tape will last anywhere from a couple of months up to half a year depending how well you clean & apply. If an entire tube is wrapped then it can last a year or more.
Cover an entire tube or strip with blue electrical tape if you want a cheap way to see if you & your fish like a moonlight for an hour or two at night before spending on the real deal. The more layers of tape you use, the more blue & consequently, the darker it makes the light.
I have alot of settings on my light I'll have to play around with it for my 125 male setup. Thanks!
Awesome aquarium light scaping. With the various options of LED lighting you can really get creative these days. Also having multiple 36" - 48" lights on a six foot tank can be a great alternative to a 72" light and give more room for customizing. 😀
Went back to look at my notes for the display tank Current USA Satellite Plus LED. Looks like I've got them set up at Red = 40% / Green = 0 / Blue = 100% / White = 75%
It like you have to go with what appeals to you. I used to use a 72” but if LEDs go out you have to throw out the entire unit. With several shorter strips you have lighting while replacing the faulty one.
@@BenOchart absolutely, lighting redundancy 😀
Best lights IMO…
The Fluval Plant 3.0 LED is my favorite light. I use it in both of my tanks. I have black backgrounds on my tanks and they are never up near 100% as far as brightness goes…mostly at about 50% or so usually, and I only raise the lights to feed the fish and they know as soon as the lights go up it’s time to eat. I always make my own light favorites, lil bit of red/pink , lil bit of blue, lil bit of warm white, and a lil bit of pure white and kind of make my own look. That combined with elite cichlids plants, and super natural sand really does show off my fish to their full potential IMO. Everyone has the ability to stay in the back of they like because I leave my lights pushed towards the front of the tank always…never in the middle, unless I’m feeding, and never towards the back. I like the depth it creates with the lights in the front and also IMO really shows off the fish the best and as stated gives them that comfort of being able to hide in a plant, or just chill in the back if they’d like👌🏼
Sean. I, too, have the same light as well as Elite Cichlid plants. Do you have a problem with the brown algae forming on the plants often? I have been told that the light settings may be part of the culprit. I may need to adjust mine to prevent the rapid build up of the brown algae on my plants. Looking for any advice you may have since you have a similar setup to my own tank.
@@NittanyFins
I get it once in a while. But not on just the plants, on some of the rocks and glass as well, I’m pretty good with water changes and just maintenance in general. Chemi pure elite seems to help keep it somewhat controlled. But if I’m not on top of maintenance it can spiral out of control.
@@seansquill8773 thanks. I keep on top of my maintenance and do it weekly. Just seems to accumulate on the plants worst of all.
@@NittanyFins Try chemi pure elite👌🏼 Deff decreased that issue for me.
I have a fluval smart skylight for plants and another one for saltwater both have 4+ lights that they give you control of each light color plus they r Bluetooth so they allow you to set it to come on and off or have a sun rise/set setting
For lights. Hygger has some awesome lights for adjusting to an exact sun rise an set. The prices are good also.
Yes. I like Hygger. I wish JC&P had the sun rise / sun set feature.
Ben u need to check out the current usa orbit ic led light w bluetooth control u can control it w an app on ur phone it has 4 colors to adjust from 0-100% blue white red green & also controls for 3 powerheads & 2 water pumps it has 12 weather effects including rain thunder & lightning & u can even hook up speakers to hear the thunder
Awesome video 👍👍👍
This is a great topic. Great purple color.
Nice video Ben. I use the Fluval aquasky lights, they also have a yellow/green spectrum. I set them 80% blue and red, 40% yellow and only 10 to 20% white. When the lights are on 6 to 8 hours a day.that’s really bright enough. Btw did you know fish have trouble with their vision when using red? It comes in handy when you need to catch one, turn on red light and they will be slower 😄
Someone also mentioned the too much red makes African Cichlids more aggressive 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Maybe they confuse cichlids with bulls? 😳😂
I have 2 4 foot nicrew lights on my 90 set on the second lowest setting I find that perfect. 1 light looked odd on full blast and wasn't enough light in the back of the tank for the plants.
Great information...
Good job
Love it 🤩
Hello, what plants are these? I'm just planting my first fish tank, and I will have anubias because I read that this and java ferm are best for african cichlids. But you've got something else, and it looks very cool (I guess your fish did not destroy it😂). Thanks
Some really good effects from that light ben. Makes the fish look awesome. what lights ware you using
Hello Paul, I have 3 LEDs on that tank, around 30" each, two in back and one front center. They are JC&P full spectrum LEDs.
@@BenOchart
Hi Ben, they sound nice lights will have to take a look at them online. Thanks
very useful.i need a advise sir.my tank is 3 feet 2 by 2.parot are severum are there.i have a 3 feet dophin light in front.what do you sujest to add furthur more to get coloures of the fish pleese
Off Topic, what watch are you wearing??
It’s a TechnoMarine Black Reef
Hi Ben, can you let me know where you get your beautiful artificial plants please.
Unfortunately they are no longer in business.
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my inquiry. Appreciate that Ben.
An you show the lights you have and how much they cost please
What about the green light that's on the heater . Does that cause any problems?
How so?
Ben, I see you have 3 light strips what size are the individual strips?
They are 3 JC&P 33” units. There’s a link under the video.
Goodnight
how can i send you my tank picture to ask you advise about lighting.what is the page that i can send
You can email me at: ben.o.cichlid@gmail.com I don't get back instantly, but I will eventually.
Where do you get your silk plants at?
EliteCichlids
Well Ben I just don’t understand the struggle with these cichlids. So I told you about the eureka red and when I added him to my 55 he’s the largest fish in the tank but he was not the aggressor. And I had to pull one fish out that was beating on him and then another one died and not him. What am I doing wrong ?!
ACs can be frustrating. Move the decor around and lower the temp a few degrees and see if that helps. Any fish with a lot of fin damage should get pulled or he’ll get killed while the lights are off.
@@BenOchart well 1 died on me then I had to remove 2 just to keep eureka red they were picking on him. And it just baffles me cause the red is largest in the tank. And it’s a male only tank now so hoping that helps
Hey Ben. I believe your decor is the cause of your aggression. Seems like they have claimed territories. The light blue, livingstoni, has claimed the bottom right of the tank. The dragonblood has claimed the bottom left. They are constantly getting bullied from each side of the tank. I recommend removing all decor. So they establish their hierarchy and do not create territories. This should tone the aggression down. Good luck
I am going to move things around. I don’t like the look of a bare tank but I will thin it out a bit. Thanks.