Aquarium light suggestions

[PygmyPepperJulli]

Well, the cracked (not anymore!) aquarium is now up and cycling, with no problems so far, so my mind is turning to equipment.

It came with a heater, so no problem there, and someone close to me just bought me a filter that seems to be working pretty well so far (guess I shouldn't say 'bought me'... they were at the shops, saw it, bought it and said 'here, I got you a filter, you can pay for it!'. Sigh...)

But anyways, the main problem is the light.

I'm going for a (low tech) riparium setup, and want something that...
a) is not going to break
b) is as cheap as humanly possible
c) will be able to grow plants (really really low tech plants)

It doesn't need anything fancy (timer, sunrise/sunset mode, bluetooth, even colours other than good old white/full spectrum) and just wanted to ask if anyone knew of any.

Also, the tank has some random glass around the tops to put a stand on, so clip- on probably isn't possible unless it's at the far end (the only side that's rimless). Also, minor problem... there's a massive glass beam that goes throughout the middle third of the tank, so it will either have to be two lights (one on each end), something that goes under the glass or something that goes over it. As for sizing, it's 62 gallons and long, so big light.

TIA!
PPJ

 

[GaryE]

There's a balance. I have grown low tech demanding plants with everything from fancy LEDs to screw in bulbs hanging over the tank in IKEA lamps or clip on shoplight fixtures. A couple of cheaper (but safe) fixtures with LED screw ins might do the job. That's the cheapest.
Old fluorescents show up cheap but cost to run.

In North America, we the cheap head to hardware/renovation stores, and stores that clear out surplus/discontinued items.

 

[TNG]

These are the basic lights (link below), but there’s no guarantee that they won’t break. You’ll probably need the 120cm, or 90cm if you have glass covers on top of the tank.

The light comes in 2 parts, the light itself and the cable with the plug and a black box. The black box is the transformer to convert 240 volts to 12 volts. If one day you find the light starts to flicker, the problem is most likely the transformer. You can buy a replacement, just make sure you buy one with the correct output amperage.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3750554...uRQVbOvYlnzk8ZG5c%3D|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:3458402

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Some of the best lighting I've ever used has come from the local hardware store. I use a simple two bulb strip light with 6500K 32 watt, T8 bulbs. If you have a larger tank, then use a couple two bulb strips. The lighting is typically less than $40.00 and the bulbs last several months. As long as you keep low to medium light plants, this lighting is fine. There's no need to break the bank with some of the higher end aquarium lighting.

10

 

[Lillypad101]

I use the Aqueneat aquarium light for all of my tanks, and the 48” for my 60 gallon aquarium.

 

[Back in the fold]

Go with one of those incandescent jobs with the big round aluminum reflector . You hang them up however you can and farm and ranch stores sell them in the chicken supply aisle dirt cheap or get one in the reptile section of any good pet shop . They’re great .