[Bad-Daddio]

yes.... yet another lighting question...

i've done a lot of searching through the forum and i've arrived at the decision that i want to use T8 lighting (36", 25 watts) on my 30 gallon tank. according to hoppy's chart, i can use one light right on the glass, or two lights @ 4" above the glass and have the kind of planted tank i'm looking to achieve. flourite sand substrate, low light, no co2 (maybe later, maybe not). i'll try out the plants on the low light list until i find what works in those conditions, combined with my water chemistry.

here's my dilema - i have a tendency to want everything i do to look "just right". i also tend to way over-think things. i'm ok with using just one light at glass level, but i'd like to illuminate the whole tank, eliminate stems from leaning towards the light source, etc. for this reason, it seems that i should probably go with two lights, raised 4" or so. is this really going to be an issue? am i really going to have a lot of shadowed areas with just one light?

please share your thoughts on both of these approaches. any pics you can share would be great.

thanks!

 

[kamikazi]

build you a stand to hang the lights from and it will look super.

 

[jdm68]

I would think that having two lights would spread the light more evenly. You would also have the benefit of lowering your light if you wanted, and if you were hang it or somehow make it capable of moving, raise your light as well. I also think the two or more light setups look nicer in general.

You could go to a store and just check out different fixtures to see what looked best to you.

 

[Hilde]

LED lights is the only thing that comes to mind. Perhaps a simple LED strip with the T8 would work.

By Hoppy
LEDs distribute the light over the whole footprint of the tank (top & bottom). By using a lot of lower power LEDs, instead of a few high power ones, you don't need an expensive, heavy heat sink. Ordinary aluminum extrusions, such as channels, will work fine.

LEDs with resisters can be bought very cheap on EBay. Let me know if your interested for have more info on LEDs.

 

[kamikazi]

I won't ever buy another aquarium specific fixture.

I will either use a strip light from a hardware store or my favorite option which is CFLs and clip work lights.

 

[Bad-Daddio]

build you a stand to hang the lights from and it will look super.

yes - i should have mentioned, the tank will sit on a shelf in the garage (my man-cave) and i will be building a DIY hood/enclosure for the lights.

 

[Bad-Daddio]

LED lights is the only thing that comes to mind. Perhaps a simple LED strip with the T8 would work.

By Hoppy
LEDs distribute the light over the whole footprint of the tank (top & bottom). By using a lot of lower power LEDs, instead of a few high power ones, you don't need an expensive, heavy heat sink. Ordinary aluminum extrusions, such as channels, will work fine.

LEDs with resisters can be bought very cheap on EBay. Let me know if your interested for have more info on LEDs.

i've thought about doing up some LED's but i already have two 36" T8 fixtures that i want to use to keep my initial costs down. i'm going to gut them and use all the parts in my hood. in the future, i may think more about LED's though.