Open top tank in living room

Jaws · #1 07-08-2017, 03:32 AM

I was just wondering what people thought about an open top tank with a T5/LED hybrid light above it that doesn't have a canopy to contain the light spillage. Tanks look so much nicer with an open top in my opinion, but does it light up your whole room and/ is it a distraction? If you're lying down on a couch that's 4 or 5 feet away from the tank are you going to be blinded by the light?

Thanks for your input

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WarDog · #2 07-08-2017, 06:22 AM

I don't even notice anymore.

Animal-Chin · #3 07-08-2017, 05:32 PM

Ya i have LEDs in the living riom and dont notice at all. I dont notice the noise either untill there is a power outage and it goes silent. Its weird when all the tank noise stops...lol

gregzz4 · #4 07-08-2017, 05:50 PM

Our tank is in our range of vision when watching TV and the light spillage was very annoying. It was also right in your face when viewing from a seated position. I ended up building a surround for the fixture to rest on.

Jaws · #5 07-09-2017, 05:19 PM

Thanks guys. LEDs I wouldn't be as worried about. But T5s can spill light quite a bit.

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Myka · #6 07-10-2017, 12:33 PM

LED hurts my eyes and drives me bonkers, so I certainly wouldn't want it in the living room. I have T5 in the living room, and the only time it bothers me is when it's reflecting off the TV. That only happens from one seating position.

sobe · #7 07-12-2017, 08:17 PM

Im same boat as myka, i can see the led flickering. I have a hood on my tank but hood is open top so excess light is directed up.

My tank height is 42"

straightrazorguy · #8 07-12-2017, 10:46 PM

I have a T5 fixture over my open tank in the living room. I tilted the fixture away from the TV (towards the back of the tank) so it no longer bothers me. It's only tilted 10 deg from the horizontal plane.

I also keep a 1/4 in mesh screen on the open top to keep my wrasses in.