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View Full Version : Help w/ lighting for 55gal


Waimeadad
10-09-2008, 4:04 AM
I am looking at replacing the hood and lighting that came w/ my standard 55gal but have some concerns. My tank has a center brace so I was going with a two 24" Versa-top glass covers but I'm not sure about what lighting fixture would fit because of the brace. If I bought a 4ft. fixture, wouldn't the brace cause the fixture to rock back and forth? Would two 24" fixtures fit? I think I remember reading that two of the 24's ended up being a couple of millimeters too big.

I was looking at these:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754542
or
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3060839

I plan to keep a few live plants which is the main reason for changing out the existing hood.

Also, would the plastic strip on the glass covers be wide enough to accomodate a hob filter? I currently have a Marineland Biowheel 350 along w/ a Rena XP2.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :)
Sploke
10-09-2008, 5:47 AM
If you got a 4' fixture you could get one with legs (or make some legs) so it stands up over the brace so it wouldn't rock. On most of my tanks I have built a custom canopy and used the AH Supply kits, a good option if you have even some basic woodworking skills.
Waimeadad
10-09-2008, 3:17 PM
Thanks for the response sploke. Wish I did have the skills to make a nice custom canopy but I'm afraid it would probably end up looking amateurish. Because of the height of the biowheel, I'm looking for a fixture that is reasonably slim so I can open the front cover without moving the light.
jm1212
10-09-2008, 4:04 PM
a 4 foot fixture should be fine
DAVIDFBT
10-09-2008, 5:51 PM
Or you could go with a shoplight and hang it from the ceiling if you want to go that way. If you have the money, I would go with a fixture with legs, IMO.
Captnslapy
10-09-2008, 7:31 PM
I have the glass lids on mine. There is plenty of room for the hob filter and I like the look much better than a standard hood.
Waimeadad
10-10-2008, 4:29 AM
I'm definitely going with a fixture that has some sort of leg support.

Great to hear that the hob will not be an issue w/ the glass top. One less worry!

Thanks :thm: