hmm...I know u would ask this question...

sunlight on one hand is the best we could get but if u notice the coloration tat comes from sunlight and comes from tanning is slightly different...

basically the difference is the amount of UV...sunlight has ample amount of it...but with a shorter span of time to exposure, its not quite possible to expect a fast conversion using sunlight

the second thing is about the UVB and UVA portion, although technically glass is able to block off the UV, how much of these UV are actually able to block?

LFor example if we were to wear sunglasses and get exposed over a long period under the UV radiation, is it true to say tat our skin under the sunglass is not going to get tanned? its just a matter of speed and effectiveness...

stimulation of the chromatophores is scientifically debatable and u could probably gathered all those involved in their experiment to put out their findings and we can get very vast diff in the argument

The kelvins part is the diff in the intensity of the light stimulation I gathered after trying to use the normal T8 (FL tubes) and compare the different Sunlight tubes (6500k), planted tubes (~7000k), 10k tubes, 12k tubes

and the results from the different tubes showed tat they varies accordingly to the color warmth

in terms of stimulation this is wat I perceives as the contrasting effect, the more the light tends towards the other side of the color spectrum the better is the effects in bringing the melanophores out...hence the deepening of colors

rays are one of the biggest bioload...mine tanks are all designed to handled them...hence should not be a problem with just aros...but Bro liquidnoise type of IOS filtration is too little to handle

he might need to cultivate pandan leaves in one of the compartment of the IOS liao,...if not relink outlet of IOS to a OHF stackable and double the filtration...its not gonna work even if u gonna change all the media inside the compartment --> its simply insufficient to cope

45% wc is dangerous --> for the rays and the aros both...u only need one case of chlorine burnt to take all of them to meet O'mighty (joking)

the blockage of UV rays by glass is 95% which is actually a lot .... now I understand there is one school of thought that says arowanas do not need that much penetration and even if it is blocked 95%, the 5% is still adequate for the tan .... this will however, contrast sharply with the view that natural sunlight is inadequate for the tanning process ...

regarding the kelvins, my understanding is that it is SI unit of measurement of heat while tanning is the penetration of UVA and UVB wavelengths ... an example is say, we're in a sauna ... well, its damn hot, but we dun get tanned as a result .... i hoped my understanding can be corrected as it may be all wrong

actually the school of tot tat u mentioned is where I originated...but the fact is sunlight is something which the aro is able to escape...

by default reds do not like sunlight...u could probably see them at the bottom of the pond or near the edges where they could find shelters

by putting them in a tank and tan them we are forcing them to take the "light" --> just like asking someone who dun like running to keep running because his hands are tied to the back of the truck

later I paste something of essence to the way light is deciphered in terms of aquarium for us to discuss upon:p

I extracted this script from one webbie:


The light spectrum describes the combination of colors of which the light consists of. Namely red, yellow, green and blue (rainbow colors). These spectrums are measured as "color temperature" - Kelvin (K).
Red and yellow produce lower temperatures while blue light produces a higher temperature. Lower and higher defined as the basic sunlight with 5500 K.

The Color Rendering Index (CRI) is indexed on a scale from 0 – 100.

100 being the equivalent to sunlight and how objects would naturally appear. CRI is an expression of the degree to which the illuminated objects appear according to their true natural color.

The intensity of light is given as Lux or lumen. This is very essential, because a light source moved only 2 inches away from the water will be 4 times less intensive. So even if the light source is correct, it might also still be insufficient, depending on the distance to the area to be illuminated.


Too much red light in combination with high nutrients will stimulate algae growth. In this case we are talking about 4000 K.

Always adjust the lighting to the natural habitat of your fish. Too much light will not blind, or fry them, but they may hide out.

Dust humidity, water turbidity and dirty vinyl or glass covers will influence the light as well.

Intense lighting in combination with high nutrients will enhance algae growth. Combined with silicates the result will be brownish algae. Combined with phosphates the result is more red and greenish algae.

You should adjust your aquarium lighting to meet the needs of your set-up and inhabitants. There are always possibilities and creative ways to shade some areas with overhangs.

Bro, so in nature, red will go under the water surface where sunlight shine whereas they will swim near surface if no sunlight?

heehee...wat do u think the ponds are setup to be?

there are specific purpose towards the way its being put up...be it local farms oroverseas farm...

normally they come up before sun rises too high:p

i believe this does not just applies 2 red aros...or even aros itself...in nature..fishes will tend 2 avoid staying at the surface when sunlight is at its peak...

ok let's say in a tank they are unable to hide and henceforth are subjected to compulsory tanning ... but this tanning has 95% of its UV wavelength being filtered out .... however, in an outdoor pond, subject to natural sunlight, the UV rays are direct and intense, w/o the glass blockage and henceforth, no filtering of the UV rays, so even if they hide, how much can they hide ?? cos UV rays penetrate thru water easily

this article just describes abt lighting and kelvins being temperature ... sorry can pls tell me the relation between this and tanning ??

becos most of the time those who play tanning have look at the wrong side of the spectrum...

I put it as part of the reference is to highlight the usefulness of the other spectrum end

this is the main key to tanning and if u are using too low Kelvins...wat is resulted is always algae

alot of UV compare to us using side tanning in tank but it hits them on which location?

only the top...not the sides...this is where the stimulation should go...

pls correct me if im wrong...algea loves full spectrum lights

nutrients control at 4000k and below is the best scenerio to create green water

i thought algae reacts to the full spectrum of lights ???

Wat is the K for sunlight....as when i start tanning in the beginning,algae always appear.

hmm John I mean if u end up with green water its gonna affect the effectiveness of the tanning exercise

the best is using the right range minmises nutrients / waste and max out the light effect

err .... must tanning be direct on each part to have effect ??? i've always felt that when u r in the water, the reflections will tan u overall ... well, wat happens is that I swim quite a bit .... and its not my back that's dark only .... my body is also dark ... this is quite different from how we tan when we're out of the water ... when u lie face down, u get ur back burnt and when u lie face up, ur body gets burnt .... the overall tanning when u r in the water is pretty different ... this is of cos due to the reflections in the water and that UV rays penetrate water easily

5500 - 6500 ....

i see ... ok so this is in relation to water quality rather than the wavelength of lights itself ...

Hi bro, does this theory apply to gold, lower K (below 5000) boost goldy towards blue?

maybe so...I like the way u put it...

but on a serious note, the UV in water will be refracted in many angles and the best angle we explored is actually cutting in at 45 degrees but the thing about it is possibility of DE...cos the red will tend to flick around trying to avoid the light...

whereas on the 90 degree perpendicular penetration, light hits on one area in the shortest span and gets bounce off fast too...

where do u think?

10k ? 20k?

sunlight tubes if I am not wrong ard 6500k

I dunno leh...my only rtg in the comm becomes chao tar under the red spectrum

What i tot was ard 10000k :)

i would say the kelvins for the morning sunrise should hovers around the 4000k mark...the type of color temp diff

10,000k should be the colour of an undercast sky....

bro..when u eng to come see??? try fresh aloe liao also dun see improvement leh

I went to C328 just now and saw some 12000K Blue Sky tube from Sera. Bro Kagemaru, should I change my Submerged Ocean Sun 10000K from Zoomed.

not too offence any bro here,wel with my limited knowlege,a normal or most of the glass will filter about 30 to 45% of uv rays,and most plastic mat will cut close to 80%.hopes that im not wrong,and this do help,reason been....in order to cut more uv,chemecal nd to b treated and is not cheap.

u can do a google on D3 lights and the effects glass has on filtering the UV rays out .... it's 95% and the results are from the manufacturers of D3 lights themselves which means they've no reason to put the filtering percentage higher as these lights are used to tan reptiles

Thanks Kagemaru for your insightful advice!

My VF is being tanned by 2 D3 lights on top and one 2ft D3 in nan tube at the side. Adequate?

More imptly, how do you bros such a heavy light in front of the tank 5 cm below the water level?? I thought of using hooks but can't find suitable ones. Pls advice on this.

Use hook and fishing line to hold your light at the side.

Bro ,

I used the below method to hold my 4ft Magnum II

Bro about the position and angle of lights that you mention earlier, you said the best level to place the light is the zone where the red frequently swim. Since red is a top dweller, does it mean that I can just place the light directly above the water surface about mid point of the width?

bubbles is an indication of the current water mgtm regime...improving on the current set of filter medium is one way to go...this is wat bro humongous is striving to achieve all this while

DIY and add on to his arsenal of filtration

this will serve him gd in the long run

Bro koji is already experienced enuff to maintain his water regime so I gathered he could focus on the light alone and experiment with the various pattern and arrangements

when I mentioned the usual path of the red, its toking about the natural route which the red travels

if persay the red always swims near 2 inches from the water mark...assuming a red of 9" body width is around 4 inches...the total surface area need to cover is the (4"+2" =6" ) the best position for such a scnerio will be targetting somewhere near the 3 to 4" from water mark

**this is under the assumption of using PL tubes to tackle the tanning**

this way the light is around the eye level of the red and wun causes DE but still is able to catch on the tummy area of the red...helping it to tan it to show some base

Using Bro T28 red as example:

Before tanning:

http://arofanatics.com/members/kagem...che=1127400463

After tanning:

http://arofanatics.com/members/kagem...che=1127400463

I use PL cos its lighter and cheaper to me:p

ur N1wan got closeup photos?

basically vincent's reds just need to adjust the water properly it should show the original color liao

Bro, what is water mark? Can elobrate more? If let say we use assumption of normal 2 tube light housing, what will be the diff?