What kind of lights for 50 gallon tank?

[jm667]

I have a 50 gallon tank that is 36" x 18" and 19" high and am trying to figure what type of lights to get to put under a canopy. I already built the stand, and plan to build a matching canopy to go over it. I have a glass top for it, and the tank also came with a single strip T8 fixture ( I have no bulb for it yet though but will get one if it is suggested to utilize this fixture). So what I want to do is either get light fixtures that can sit on top of the glass top, and still allow me to put a canopy over it, or to get fixtures that can mount to the underside of the canopy. I want to have a good deal of plants, but they will be low to mid light plants because I do not plan on injecting CO2. Maybe somewhere down the road when I learn about it, but right now I am already spending too much money on this setup! So for now I just want enough light where I won't need CO2 and won't get algae buildups. If something like flourish excel works in place of CO2, that will be fine. And if I find out that trying to get lights for a canopy is more trouble than its worth, I might ditch the canopy idea. I just thought it would look nicer with one that matches the stand rather than looking at a light fixture sitting over the top of it.

 

[unwritten law]

for low-mid plants you want about a 50-100 watt fixture to match that length. Most compact florescent that length at 96 watts so just shop around for that I'd say. Should be about $120.

 

[jm667]

I found those compact flourescent, but don't they run real hot? The ones I saw said do not use them under a canopy.

 

[Chris_A]

CF/PC's can run fairly warm yes. And if the maker says not to run them under a hood then I would follow that advice. They may not have made them to handle the heat build up. Not to mention Flourescents don't run as efficently or last as long when they are constantly run hot. That said though, nothing a few "computer" fans DIYed in *probably* wouldn't fix.

Have you considered a Retrofit kit? Basically you would just build the light into the hood. Say 2 T5HO's with individual reflectors. Something like this: Sunlight Supply 36" T5 Tek Retrofit System - 2-Bulb, 2 x 39W

Pretty sure I've seen these for as low as $100US on American sites.

Chris

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention, I got Daylight lamps (6500K) for a 24" version at half the LFS price at a Hydroponic store...