lighting for 27g hex tank

[mommytron]

I'd like to plant my hex tank bur am having some problems figuring out lighting. I only need 1 or 2 wpg, but since it's no more than 16" wide, I'm not sure what can be done. i have a couple ideas I've been tossing around but nothing solid, so I was curious as to how someone else would go about lighting this size/shape tank. I'm open to almost anything, but it has to be within a budget.

So, any ideas? TIA

 

[mommytron]

really? nothin?

could I use a desk lamp w/ CFL?

my husband is pretty handy, are there DIY options? I don't really care if it's fancy or what not, just functional and clean.

I'm open to hood options as well. the plastic hood it has I'm not a fan of, and the only replacements are over priced and the same thing anyway. I've thought of two things I could do, but not sure how to go about them. First I thought of seeing if I could have a glass one made, but I would have to upgrade the filtration to decrease the amount of space it needs (we had to cut a second space for a second internal filter) and I'm not sure if it would be within my budget anyway. second I thought of making my own mesh top (like for a reptile cage) which I could rest a light right on top of.

I neeeeeed to make this work...I know it can be done. So any and all suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

 

[mommytron]

this is the current hood and light. it's a 20" strip which, as you can see, hangs off of the sides.

 

[fort384]

The desk lamp is an option. How tall is the tank? It is going to be a challenge to light.

The other option that might be best considering the space is LEDs. They would require some soldering though if you build it yourself. You could probably rip the guts out of the current hood and mount them inside. You can buy LED di's that put out a lot of light on eBay for a decent price.

 

[mommytron]

the tank is 24" tall I believe. I only need enough light for the low light plants I have in my 20g tall tank right now (which only has 15w itself). I want to move most the existing plants over to my hex tank when I upgrade the 20g. so I'm guessing that 30w would be enough, but I'd prefer to have closer to 60w, since it is such a tall tank. But anything in that range would be great.

I don't think I want to do LED's, as I just want enough to keep low-light plants I already have alive. I think if I can figure out a fixture that would work with my hood (or even a wire mesh cover) that will fit a couple CFL's (or maybe even just one?) I should be set.