Best (low cost) lighting for veiwing a 10gal nano reef tank at night?

[Piscean]

Hey everyone! Do any of you know what would be best for illuminating my 10gal nano reef tank at night? I would really like a light that I could leave on all night but not inhibit my nocturnal critter's activities.

Also...

I currently have a top/hood on my nano-reef, should I ditch the hood and just make a DIY mount for the lights..? I just don't know if I'm up for the constant battle of topping it off...


Thoughts (On both subjects^)?:sfish:

 

[little_fish]

I would ditch the hood and hook up an ATO if you dont want to top off daily.

Also just look for a clip on LED fixture. One or two bulbs should lights up your tank at night perfectly.

 

[Piscean]

Hmmm, good idea! Any ATO's that you've found to be particularly nice?


and about the lighting, do you mean like, single LED bulb fixtures? Does it matter what kind of LED bulbs?

Would this work? [ame=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ITGQXS/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001AHLOGG&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=11W9G7K5KECC7ETFY436]Amazon.com: Fulcrum Multi-Flex LED Task Light, Silver: Home Improvement[/ame]


-James

(Sorry for asking SO many questions, I'm just making sure I thoroughly research!)

 

[little_fish]

Ya, that would work, might be crazy bright though. Im not sure if you can dim that down or not.

And this is the ATO im using for my tank
AutoTopoff.com

But for your tank i think that will be too much. I would try and DIY one. Just use a simple float switch and make it gravity feed.

 

[Piscean]

Cool, thanks! I just don't know where I can get a dim led fixture... : /

Maybe I'll just mix up a bunch of saltwater ahead of time and keep like 3 water jugs under the stand... As long as I stay on top of it. Ya know :P

 

[little_fish]

you should not be toping off with saltwater, only fresh.

Only the water evaporates, leaving the salt behind. If you top off with salt, the salinity is going to go through the roof.

 

[Piscean]

That's right, I actually knew that. I'm working on a paper right now lol...Multitasking is not my forte.

 

[little_fish]

ok, just making sure :)