Lighting Question

[cr3w66]

Hi all -

I'm finally setting up a bigger tank (65 gal) for an octopus, and need some advice on lighting. I know that octos aren't too keen on any lighting, so I don't want to over do it. But what kind of lighting and wattage should I go with? I know red LEDs are a must, but from there I'm lost. I saw on another thread that 30-40watts fluorescents was fine - does that mean that one of those cheap-o all-glass strips will do?! That just doesn't seem right to me.... Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Animal Mother]

Yes, the cheap-o all-glass strips will do fine actually.

 

[Nancy]

You really don't need much light - if you visit research labs, you'll find they often use ambient light. I think we put lights on our tanks mostly for the benefit of the coralline algae and so we can see our cephs better.

You need red light only if you want to view the octopus at night, usually for a nocturnal octopus. Don't ever use blue moonlights - any night lighting should be red.

But if you have a day-active octopus, you won't need night lighting.

Nancy