Light placement on a tank.

[875mill]

I have a glass hood on my tank that has a plastic hinge running down the middle. If I place my light fixture over the center of my tank the hinge seems to block out alot of light. It does cast a noticable shadow. So I have been keeping the light fixture pushed towards the back of my tank. By doing this will the plants in the front of my tank still be getting plenty of light? Only reason I'm asking is I have some Dwarf hair grass in the front that is starting to turn brown, and I'm curious as to weather its a light problem or something else. Oh forgot to say its a 29 gallon tank with a 65 watt PC fixture so 2.25 WPG.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Do you have it pushed all the way back, or is it pulled forward up to the edge of the hinge so it's not on the hinge?

 

[875mill]

Its right on the edge of the hinge bout 2" off the back of the tank

 

[Lonewolfblue]

you should be fine then. At least some of the light isn't being blocked.

 

[gfink]

Hmmm....I was thinking about geting a 65W CF fixture for my 29, but I wouldn't want to block any of the light.

Take a look at these glass tops. Are they the same as what you have?
"Versa-Top Twin Tubes feature a wider back glass panel to safely accommodate wider light fixtures without hindering the opening and closing of the top."
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13818&N=2004+113765

If not, this cover may help.

 

[maxwell1295]

There are two different glass tops....one made for single tubes and another one made for twin-tubes. I'm actually looking at getting the twin-tube top gfink posted with this fixture:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=13612&N=2004+113349

It's low-tech, but better than the standard All-Glass unit with the 24" 20w bulb. At least this one comes with two 36" 9325ºK bulbs.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Have you checked this?

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=25

 

[maxwell1295]

I've checked it out before but that page confuses the crap out of me. I'm not sure how much wattage I want (or need) and have no idea whether I could go with just the strip light or whether I would need the entire fixture.

I have the All-Glass unit now and don't know if something like this would fit it: http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=144

Or maybe I could go with a T5 unit like this: http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=17

All I want to do is put a few low-light plants (anubias and such) in my 30 gal long.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

For low light plants, the 2nd one would be ok. But for the dwarf grass, I think you would need more light, like first fixture. Also, with the first one, you may need CO2, as it's over 3w/g.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's something in between that might work for you....

http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=20

EDIT:

This one is in stock:
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=150

 

[maxwell1295]

Would I have to clip those to the sides of the tank or could they sit right on my glass top? That's the only question I have for anything not made by All-Glass. If I can fit it with little or no trouble, I might jumo on one of those.

BTW, I'd have no intention of messing with CO2.....I want to keep it as simple as possible.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I believe the legs come with it, so it would be your choice as to whether you want to use them or not. I use them on my 260w fixture on my 75G. But I don't think it's necessary. If it's an all glass top, you should be fine.

As for the legs, if you use them, they attach to the light fixture. Then the whole light fixture with the legs just fit on the edge of the tank. You don't want to put a lot of weight on the glass top. They are made to fit on the tank edges.

Here is how it would look sitting on the tank...

And for tank maintenance, the light lifts back and you can remove the glass tops without removing the light. Then when done, put the glass back on and swing the light back forward and down in place. Pretty nice feature.