It's too tall!

[klawran1]

I've been browsing the site for a long time now, but this is my first post. After so many days of saying that I was going to start a tank, I finally did it! My plants are in, they are officially under water, but I'm having a lighting issue. I want my tank on my kitchen counter. It's a 20 gal and the hood that comes with it is a quarter of an inch too tall to slide under my cabinets. I'm looking for a light for my plants (I was looking at Aqueon floral) but I can't find the right size.

All that aside, I'm looking for suggestions for a good plant light that the fixture is shorter than a typical hood light. I like the light strip I picked out, but I can't find a fixture that will fit it and still go under my cabinets. I thought the thin marineland would fit, but I know nothing about it. Let me know. Thanks.

[mitchfish9]

Welcome to TPT

I cant really recommend a light until I know the dimensions of a tank, and if you are going for high, medium, or low light.

[klawran1]

The tank is a basic 20 gallon. The default, not the tall or the long. As for the strength of the lighting, I just want something that will be good for my plants. I was given an assortment from Petsmart (I'm an employee there) so I have no idea what kind each one is and if their lighting requirements are different that the next.

[mitchfish9]

it looks like you are going low tech.

A corallife t5 NO or a single t8 with a good reflector will both be sufficient.

[Sluggo]

I couldn't keep Bettas alive when I tried to keep them on the kitchen counter. I swear that fumes from whatever we used to clean the sink and counters were getting into the water. I lost two fish that way before I wound up moving the tank.

[klawran1]

Originally Posted by Sluggo

I couldn't keep Bettas alive when I tried to keep them on the kitchen counter. I swear that fumes from whatever we used to clean the sink and counters were getting into the water. I lost two fish that way before I wound up moving the tank.

I'm not worried about that. My kitchen is cleaned with water and vinegar or baking soda and water. Nothing harsh. I'm an eco nut, what can I say?

[Crob5965]

Originally Posted by klawran1

The tank is a basic 20 gallon. The default, not the tall or the long. As for the strength of the lighting, I just want something that will be good for my plants. I was given an assortment from Petsmart (I'm an employee there) so I have no idea what kind each one is and if their lighting requirements are different that the next.

buy a fluorescent from the hardware store and mount it to the underside of your cabinet I would get a T8 preferably a T5HO 6500k light

[klawran1]

Originally Posted by Crob5965

buy a fluorescent from the hardware store and mount it to the underside of your cabinet I would get a T8 preferably a T5HO 6500k light

I'll look into that. I'm also looking at getting a stand and putting it near my kitchen so I will still have easy access to a sink for water changes. No matter how I look at it, I'm going to need to keep the tank clean and keeping it on my counter under a low cabinet blocks my access and it will be too heavy completely filled to slide it back and forth. I'm looking for a fitted fish tank stand, or a very sturdy television stand. I've been browsing craigslist and freecycle.

[Xavier10]

The marineland led lights are pretty slim.