which lighting makes the water look wavey

[wild fin]

i dont know how to explain it but when to a gathering at someones house and he had a tank in his bar. beautiful set up. anyways his lighting was amazing. it made the water look wavey. can anyone help??

[saltycreefer]

A point light source(metal halide)

[wild fin]

he told me not to look directly into it. now i have a 90 gallon tank. what size would i need. exact measurements are 48"x18"x25".

[supertech3]

this affect has been known to be given off from a metal hallide system

[hahnmeister]

A non-linear, or point source light would do it. A halide bulb will do it, and the smaller the reflector (and technically, less efficient reflector) will make more 'shimmer' than a wide reflector. Other point sources can be used though... LEDs even.

[SCR]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8718017#post8718017 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by wild fin
he told me not to look directly into it. now i have a 90 gallon tank. what size would i need. exact measurements are 48"x18"x25".
Depends on what you want to grow. My first suggestion would be two 250 watts. If you want faster growth go with two 400 watts. That would mean more heat and a bigger power bill, but you will have the shimmer effect your looking for. I don't thing you can ever have to much light. LOL

[Afishianado]

You can get a mild shimmer effect with flourescent type bulbs also by having a powerhead pointing up to the surface at the center/front center of the tank. This increases the shimmer effect of MH lights also and it is always a good idea to keep your surface moving a lot anyway.