Lighting Advice

WuHT · #1 11-30-2008, 12:27 AM

Not sure If i should put it in the fowlr subforum but here goes :

I have a 60" tank Eurobraced and covered with egg crate. Now i'd like to avoid drilling holes for suspended lights, and have been checking some t5 hoods. However, i'm not sure if those mounting legs would work on my tank (since models are 48" and even then will it work on eurobracing ?

Secondly.. is there any hood that would be supported by eggcrate ? (light enough and not emitting too much heat)?

This is for a fowlr , but I just wanted something easy to maintain. (PC hoods look massive)... i'm using a fresh water aqualight strip as of the moment, but i'd like to keep more soft corals.

So any recommendations for light fixture/hoods models ?

tang daddy · #2 11-30-2008, 12:36 AM

Your tank should have a bracket on it... If so you can make a cheap cap out of 1x4 and plywood then you can mount the t5 inside of that not sure if this answered your question or not?

tang daddy · #3 11-30-2008, 12:38 AM

another easy way if you already have a t5 fixture with legs is to get some glass and or acrylic pieces to put at the 4ft length so the legs can rest on them.

Myka · #4 11-30-2008, 12:38 AM

How deep is the tank? I'm not aware of a light fixture that is light enough to be supported by egg crate. Check out Hagen GLO T5HO units, they have an adjustable leg system that expands. The 48" adjust all the way up to 64". They come in HO and NO, and single or dual bulb.

Trigger Man · #5 11-30-2008, 07:04 AM

I Think the Nova units also have expandable leg systems.

WuHT · #6 11-30-2008, 08:55 PM

Hmm what exactly do you mean by "brackets" tang daddy ? Center bracing ?

Myka : I was looking at the mounting legs of hagen glo, and I dont see how it'll work for euro braced rims though. 24" deep tank for me btw.

Trigger Man : I'll take a look into the nova units

-- What a problem, 60" t5 lights are hard to come by... and if they have mounting legs that just rest of the aquarium (instead of clipping on or something else) then i'd be set

Trigger Man · #7 11-30-2008, 10:53 PM

Wuht: I have a 48" t5 unit on my 60" inch tank. I used a bracing system that hangs over the top of my tank and is connected to the back of my stand. You can try something like that.

Myka · #8 12-01-2008, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WuHT

Myka : I was looking at the mounting legs of hagen glo, and I dont see how it'll work for euro braced rims though. 24" deep tank for me btw.

Oops, missed the part about the eurobracing. With 24" depth I would swing more towards MH, and choose the wattage based on what critters you want to keep. Two MHs would light 60" sufficiently. You still have to figure out how to mount though.