[re_hashed]

Right, I'm taking the plunge and going to invest in a lighting unit for my tank.

After reading endless articles on this site I've browsed the interent for a while and decided on this:

Arcadia Overtank Luminaire Marine With T8 Lamps

from http://www.swelluk.com/marine/marin...tank-luminaire-marine-with-t8-lamps-184.html#

Before I part with my cash does anyone have any knowledge of these lighting units. Are they economical?? I was kinda thinking that as the top of the tank is completely open there will be too much heat loss causing the heater to be on almost perminantly. Do you loose a lot of water through condensation when using on of these units ??

I know that they are called 'Marine' but they'll be ok for a standard tropical set up in a 30"(w) x 15" (h) x 12" (d) tank or am I going to be constantly scraping off the alge and having everything turn green every week?

Questions, questions, questions, but thanks for any answers guys.

 

[spypet]

I assume you are buying;

Arcadia 80cm Marine With T8 Lamps 2x25w AF228M £79.99

at ~2wpg you may only be able to grow low tech plants.
considering the £pound is worth $2usd, you are paying
double what we pay for the same type of light fixture.
while it's very pretty, I think you can do better elsewhere.

Marine only means one of the bulbs is blue, so you will
need another £10-£15 to replace it with a white bulb.
others sell fixtures where both bulbs are already white.

 

[Betowess]

It should be fine for that tank. Lower light with no CO2. I love the design! With low tech, slow growth but much less of an algae issue. :thumbsup:

 

[awrieger]

I have the 4' 4xT5 version, which looks identical.

It looks very stylish and classy sitting on the tank. One of the best looking lights out there I'd say actually. But in my case, I want strong light and these fixtures only have very basic 3-sided reflectors, each holding two tubes (yours may have one reflector per tube, so it'll be okay). So a lot of the light from mine is just going from one tube into the other instead of into the tank. For this reason alone, I'm sourcing a more efficient light fixture, otherwise I'd keep using this one forever.

I've had mine for over a year now and never had any problems with it, so there's no problems with reliability and workmanship. Apart from the plastic screws which hold the base onto the aquarium glass. Which is not an issue with the light itself, but the stand legs. In my case, in order to get them to grip the glass without slipping and letting go when I flip the light up, I had to tighten them so hard they began to bend (as plastic does). But you may not have this problem as yours will be smaller and less weight and hence will need less gripping power.