I've had my aquarium for almost a year now and have never been completely happy with the lighting.
I have 2x 18W 'bulbs' and whilst the light is OK, it's a bit warm (colour, not heat) yellowy and I would have preferred it if it were a little brighter.
This is the kind of light bulb (x2) supplied with the tank:
I had previously added a small blue LED light to serve as Moonlighting in the morning and evening, but also leave this on alongside the main light during the day.
This is how it looks with the standard lighting and the blue LED:
Anyway I decided I would try and improve the lighting without breaking the bank.
I decided to use LED strips which are the kind sold to go underneath kitchen units:
I bought 4x 1M lengths of 5630 strips as these seemed to be the brightest available.
I also bought a 12V adapter:
And so I set about attaching the 4 LED Strips to the lid.
I had previously added some reflective tape to help maximise the lighting.
This is how it all looks underneath.
I spent a total of just under £30
LED Strips £3.99 each
AC Adaptor £6.00
Wire and Electric Terminal Connector £6.00
Annoyingly, photos just don't do the end result justice at all.
The camera makes the difference seem so subtle as to have been not worth the expense and the effort.
This is the tank lit with the standard bulbs, the blue LED and the 4x LED strips:
I'm really pleased, the new lighting is much a much cooler whiter light (approx 6000 - 6500k) and really helps the fish look their best, especially the Cardinal Tetras.
It's also given me a new option of running the LED strips without the standard bulbs and I'm doing this in the morning and evening, before increasing the lighting by adding the standard lights, as a kind of dusk/dawn effect.
Again, unfortunately photos just don't do it justice.
Incidentally, this is running on a tank with the following dimensions: W80 x D43 x H55cm so on a smaller aquarium (especially one with less depth) you may get away with using these LED strips on their own.
So my new lighting regime, all controlled with timer sockets, looks like this:
07:00 Blue LED comes on for Moonlighting
07:30 LED Strips come on for Dawn (+ Blue LED)
08:30 Standard Lights come on (+ LED Strips + Blue LED)
18:30 Standard Lights go off (LED Strips + Blue LED stay on for dusk)
19:30 LED Strips go off (Blue LED stays on for Moonlighting)
22:30 Blue LED goes off for total darkness
Next I think I'm going to replace the standard lighting with equivalent LED 'bulbs' which should last longer, cost less to run and should provide that cooler, whiter light.