20g-l hood

[maaltan]

I am trying to find a hood for a secondhand 20g long tank. I bought one, perfecto brand 30x12, that was guaranteed to fit all 20gl tanks. HA it was 1/4 inch too long and half inch to narrow ( which = electricution hazard when it gets bumpedd and it falls to its death into the tank)

Well I'm going to be taking it back tomarrow. My question is where can I find such a hood.

The tank is old. Probably early 80s. The exact measurements of the recess is 29"x 11 7/8 x 1/2" deep. the shelf/lip that the hood is 1/4" on the short dimensions and 1/8" on the long.

The dimensions of the perfecto hood 29 1/4" x 11 1/2"

Does anybody know what brand will fit this tank? If not do you know of any simple plans to build one to my specifications?

 

[ROLLIN]

An easy way to get one that is sure to fit is to go to a glass store and get a piece cut exactly how you need it. You can sit a light strip on top, if you want lights.

 

[maaltan]

Yeah,

I am aware of the option but was looking for something more professional. After purchasing and returning 3 different brands that i could find localy, i ended up taking this route. I purchased a piece of scrap 1/4" lexan for < $4.
Lexan is polycarbonate and is much tougher to break. It is also supposed to retain its clarity better than acrylic (plexiglass)

The store i purchased from said i couldnt break cut it. I had plenty to spare so i tried it (hate being told i cant do something... plus i hate chisleing jigsaw blades out of melted plastic ). Although harder to break cut, its possible. score it about 2/3 of the way through. of course having a fletcher-terry multimaterial cutter avalable makes it easier but one of the hand scorers work. the rough edge can be smoothed amasingly easy with a simple wood workers plane . The one I used was a very cheap stanley 12-101 (about $6 where i got it) .. makes a very nice professional polished edge. better than ive ever done with jigsaw.

now... where can i get that there strip light. every one at my local hardware store has the switch on the bottom cant be placed on the glass top) or weighs 50 lbs and has to be direct wired.

 

[Blinky]

If you're in Canada or the US you could try Big Al's online - www.bigalsonline.com - they've got all kinds of strip fluorescent/PC lights.

If you're into DIY (and I think you just might be ) you can build a hood fairly simply for one of the direct-wire strip lights. It's really just a box made from any wood you like (and you could stain/paint it to match your stand if you want a finished look) You can attach 1x1 or other small pieces of wood around the inside as a lip that sits on the edge of the tank, and hinge the front section of the top for access. Paint the inside white to reflect light, and you're good to go. I built a light box very cheaply with that type of light; it's a bit ghetto but it's hidden from the front

 

[maaltan]

hmm .. doh. all the bulbs. so are there really any difference in the 5 pages of bulbs or are they just different brands

well I found a fixture. Got a stand built for it. Im actually quite happy with how it turned out. A bit large but its ok. But... it came with a f18t8 18W 3000k bulb. Its probably ok with the plants I currently have and the reddish tint sort of brings out the orange in the swordtails so i guess its ok. I also saw these really thin strips of incandescent "grain of wheat" lights.

I was thinking of getting one of those and wire it into a automatic dimmer so i can trigger spawing of my neons. Its interesting to watch them dance around but its a pain to get all the lights just right to simulate dawn But thats just more red light.

thanks for the link. If i have a chance (and if i ever get my digital camera back ) i will post picts of my light.

 

[Blinky]

If you're not thrilled with the bulb, you can get T8s at Home Depot or other home improvement/hardware stores very inexpensively.
Something above 5000K will give you a much less red light - 6700K is supposed to approximate daylight, and you can get T8s in 'full spectrum daylight' which looks quite nice IMO. My personal favourite is 9325K - the bulbs that came with my PC fixture are 9325K and I thought it would be much too blue, but I find it's very 'crisp' looking. Plants don't seem to mind either

 

[maaltan]

alright I cant find this bulb. The fixture says use a f18t8 only. Its an 18 watt fixture and the bulb measures about 23" .

A f20t10 (23" 20 watt) black light bulb with physically fit the fixture and the fixture will drive it momentarily. After it ignited I turned it off incase that extra 2 watts was enough to damage the fixture.

The only bulbs I can find are f20t16 which are sold as 24" bulbs. the page you mentioned sells some bulbs that are 24" 18 watt but no "f" notation.

are the 24" actually 23"? i will goto store this afternoon and measure one.

Also, Will the extra 2 watts severely over stress the 18w ballast or will the light just not be as bright? I run my fixture 12 hrs a day on a timer.

Thanks