[jdm68]

Ok, so I read Hoppy's lighting chart, and it looks like I probably want to go with T5's instead of T8's. Doing that, I would also only need to have a 2 lamp fixture, sitting about 4 inches from surface, although I'm not sure I see a mention of wattage with that chart. Basically, I'm just looking for a high light set-up, hanging pretty near the surface of the water, with which I can grow any plant I want. Also looking to keep costs down and make the hood so I'm not looking for any pre-built stuff, just the fixtures. Sorry for the novel this question is turning into...

 

[jdm68]

Well, it looks like I've been looking in the wrong places. I didn't want to look at Aquarium supply houses because I had assumed they would charge way more for stuff because it was "purpose built" for an aquarium. Like how gravel in a LFS costs a zillion times more than landscaping gravel, for the same thing... Anyways, thanks a lot peeps. The light linked from GitMoe(like the name!) looks like a great deal and even two of them would be cheaper than some of the other options I've seen. I may grab two and then use them in combination under a homemade hood. I also want to add a moonlight, so that may be my best bet.

GitMoe- How are the reflectors on that light? Have you ever done/found PAR readings for the light? I'm not really that concerned with the numbers, just interested. ANYTHING would be a huge improvement over the 20w T12 I've got now...