Need Lighting Solution For A 30"x12" Tank

[jaarus]

I have a tank which needs both lighting and a new hood.

The tank was bought secondhand and came with a hood which is ...well.... knackered and the seller through in a light which was very kind of him as its certainly better than nothing.
Its a marine tank light so appears bright for its watts but I want to go planted in this tank so the time has come to replace.

The tank is 30" long x 12" wide x 15" deep.

The trouble I am having is that the only hoods I can find are Clearseal which can hold a single tube light.

Can anyone point me to a hood/light combo that will hold two lights for a 30x12 tank?


Many thanks
Jaarus

 

[dc3]

Maybe you can try getting a glass lid and running a T5 coralife light atop that - they make a freshwater combo - plant specific tube and a colour enhancer - it's very low profile so doesn't look intrusive...

 

[SkiFletch]

What kind of light did it come with? Power comact? T5? Other? It may just be a case of replacing the bulbs with the proper spectrum saving you lots of time/money.

If it truly isn't suitable I'd suggest a Power Compact retrofit kit. Perhaps a 2x65watt model. Sadly nobody makes 30" T5s, its only 24" or 36"

 

[timg]

I seem to remember that in the Clearseal lid I had were two round holes for bayonet/screw type bulb fittings. You may have this feature in your lid and that would enable you to install much more powerful lighting. The downside to that is that they are very close to the water and the heat given off could cause a problem.

 

[Davver]

A good cheap way of addidng lights/hood to your tank is shown on this thread by cuprajake. Basically it is white squareish guttering with the matching endcaps, producing quite a smart looking lid. Obviously you would need a starter unit, I would recommend an electronic double tube unit (glomat for t8s). You could of course use black guttering, but the whte also acts as a good reflector, though if you used black you could add aluminium ones inside. Obviously you already have a starter unit which you should use, I think the marine light (if it is white should be ok for planted along with some others of different K.

Good luck, Dave.

 

[iairj84]

Their are definately plenty of DIY solutions you can use. I used regular CF bulbs that are daylight rating 6500k and the plant growth is awesome. Check my DIY for an idea and you can look to a number of places for ideas. I would see what kind of fittings the current fixture has since you might be able to use it just with different bulbs