Tropical Fish Forums

FishFlake

I have a 55 gallon aquarium. It's 48 inches long and about 12.5 inches wide. It has two hoods on top, they both seem to be about 22.5" long. The light strips hold each hold only one 18" lamp.

1) Is it possible to get enough light for an Amazon biotope tank with this much lighting?

2) If not, what do I do? I can't seem to find any hoods or light strips that would fit this size and hold 2 tubes. Can anybody help?

nikelodeon79 · Regulars Joined: 08 Nov 2007 Location: Wisconsin, U.S.A.

You could purchase glass tops for your tank (or have them made at a hardware store) and buy a 48" T5HO light fixture. There are plenty on ebay with wire-like legs that will mount with glass tops.

There are also fixtures available that have "legs" with plastic screws that mount on the tank, but I've discovered they don't work with any sort of a top, so you if you have fish prone to jumping they're not a good idea.

Another idea is to actually hang the light from your ceiling or brackets on the wall. (See an example in "The Dumpster Tank" link in my siggie. This is actually a really good idea because the distance your light needs to be from your tank is often greater than what is provided by the mounting legs on the fixture.

First, though, you'll need to figure out what sort of planted tank you want. Are you looking for high light, high tech (CO2 & ferts) or something a bit lower maintenance?
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FishFlake

I was able to pick up a twin-tube 48" fixture that works perfectly in place of my two smaller light strips. I may still create custom glass covers in the future, but for now this appears to work really well. Thanks!

FishFlake

On second thought, I am going to have custom glass covers made. I put the order in at a local glass shop. It'll be nicer.

Nick, I'm looking to do a low-light Amazon tank. Looking through all the great resources here, I see what plants and fish would be suitable, but I couldn't figure out how to refit my lighting to something that would allow me more versatility. Now I have a 48" T5 Dual Lamp fixture I can work with.