Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've just set up a new 53 US Gallon cichlid tank, and I'm having a bit of a dilemma. I've been wondering, what's the best lighting to use? I thought I'd ask for your opinions - should I stick with the standard t8 tubes that came with the Roma 200, or is it worth upgrading to really make the colours of my fish pop? I'm happy to spend a bit of money if it means my tank looks amazing.

I recently picked up a pair of LED fixtures that I'm really happy with - they've got 10000k white and actinic blue, and the colours they bring out are superb. I found them on Ebay under the brand Beamswork, and for the price, I think they're a great value compared to some of the other options out there.

Beamswork LEDs are good, I've got them myself but at 6,500k. I found a link to one that might fit your tank - 24x 3W 6500K white Beamswork EVO 36 aquarium LED light 90-120cm planted aquarium.

I think 10,000k is more suited to marine, less beneficial for tropical plants as it has less white light. Won't affect the fish but if you do plan on growing plants, 6,500k is a better choice in my opinion. I know plants aren't a priority for your cichlid tank but just thought I'd mention it.

The wattage per LED is important - if you go for 3w per LED and end up with over 1w per litre, that's considered high tech and you'll need to provide ferts and co2 to help the plants absorb all that light.

There are some decent, affordable LEDs out there, just do some research to find what's best for your tank. If you want to keep things low tech but still see some plant growth, T5 lights are a good option - they're good for plants and have a decent brightness to them. I'm actually planning to use T5 lights on my own Roma 90 for lower tech plants.