Lighting for a 75 gallon

[MartinBlank]

Be prepared for a lot of ignorance here...

Ok... I have an aquarium very similar to this:

It has two glass hinged covers that sit in each "window" on the top. And then there is a single, long fluorescent fixture that sits on the back side of the glass covers running the length of the aquarium...

I then have a wood canopy that sets on top of the aquarium itself.

I am not very fond of the flight. I am not trying to grow any plants, and don't have any interest in doing so, I am speaking only about the way it lights up the tank. Just doesn't seem to light up the tank very well compared to my 10 gallon (which I understand is not a fair comparison). For example, when my fish swim towards the back of the tank, the light really makes their colors stand out (especially my glowlight tetras).. but when they are closer to the front (or heck, the middle-front) they lose all that reflective coloration...

Are there lighting systems that might more evenly light my tank back-to-front? Would it be worth it to upgrade given that I am not trying to grow plants?

I was thinking of going to a pair of clip-on lights to hang over and ditching the glass covers entirely... but obviously with the wood canopy that would either have to be pretty close to the water.. or close to the wood canopy life.. neither of which sounds like a good idea..

So yes... as you can see I really don't know anything about this subject... any advice? Lighting for purely cosmetic reasons.... nice even lighting front to back on a 75....

Thank you!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I have a 55g, same width tank. I picked up a 48" 2 lamp T8 strip fixture from Menards for $17. You should be able to find the same one. I put in 2x $26 Flora Sun Max Plant Growth bulbs in it, but you can go with any full-spectrum lamp from Menards or Home Depot, something around 4000-6000 K (Kelvins = color temperature) for a few bucks each. It may or may not fit under your canopy though, so measure.

This is exactly what I have

Power Electronics and Systems, Inc. PES

It says it is rated for wet locations but I have it sitting above my glass tops as you described. I had to replace it once because it just stopped working one day, but who cares. It was $17.

 

[MartinBlank]

Thanks!

My glass "lids" look similar to this:

Do you put your light behind the brown/black hinge? Or in front (and then move it back when you want to open them). That hinge drives me crazy as it is basically right in the middle of the aquarium.. right where I would want my light to be.... probably my imagination but I feel like that is what is causing some of the issue as far as full light front to back... when I move it in front.. the back looks really dark....

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I actually went to True Value and had them cut me new tops so that the part the light is over is wider than the fixture, and the opening part is only about 1-1/2" wide. If I need to get into the tank, I slide the fixture to the back and take the lid off. A 75g is bigger front to back so you would have more opening space. I used an emery cloth to sand the sharp edges of the glass. Works great and cost about $15 for both lids (4 pieces). Buying the lids from a store costs about 4x as much. Rip off!

Home Depot and Lowes can custom cut glass too BTW

 

[MartinBlank]

Actually I just realized that the glass on one side of the hinge is much longer than the other (with the longer piece facing outwards towards the front of the tank). Tonight I will try just reversing it and see if I like that better. If it works out like I think it will.. it will truly be a "well DUH" moment LOL

 

[BigJim]

+1 for the shop light. You could try hanging the light inside your wooden canopy to raise the light and spread it out a bit.