Lighting - Starting Over

[pankelephant]

I thought I was set with budget lighting - I purchased the Odyssea T5HO fixture last week. The problem is that I bought it from Aquatraders, who seem to have disappeared. Website down, number disconnected, emails unanswered, etc.. I filed a claim with Paypal and I'm sure I'll get my money back, but in the meantime, I need to get new lights. I've got a bit more money than I thought, so I'd like to get something a little nicer/more reliable.

It would be awesome if I could get some suggestions on fixtures to buy. Ones you've used that sucked or didn't suck, that sort of thing. I know bulbs are part of it and I think I've got that figured, I just don't know what I'm looking for with fixtures. I would like something that lets me grow anything. Do they make fixtures where you can choose which bulbs to have on at a time, so you can vary the lighting throughout the day? Whatever I end up with, it has to have legs to sit on the tank, I can't hang it. I'm looking in the $150 - $200 range, give or take, for a 55g FW tank (48").

Halp!

 

[aqua_chem]

Are you going to be running CO2, ferts, etc?

 

[pankelephant]

Yeah, that's important information, lol. Sorry about that. No CO2, I'll be dosing Excel and ferts. Most of the plants I'm thinking about are medium/med-high, but I don't want to be stuck there down the road. My stock will be exclusively South American - a few large-ish schools of tetra and a bunch of corys.

 

[BBradbury]

Lighting Your 55 G

Hello pank...

Depending on the plants you like to keep, you may not need to spend more than a $100.00 or so for good lighting. I use Solarmax lighting on some of my 55 G tanks and am very pleased with it. There are a good range of lamps you can use in the strip, depending on the requirements of your plants.

A company by the name of alphaprobreeders is a dealership in the Ohio area, relatively close to you. It might be worth looking into this source.

B

 

[NYgiantsRP]

What kind of South Americans are you looking to get? A lot of South American cichlids will tear plants apart.

 

[pankelephant]

Thanks, BBradbury, I'll look in to those. The Amazon reviews are not promising, but I'll keep researching.

What kind of South Americans are you looking to get? A lot of South American cichlids will tear plants apart.

South American - tetras and cories. I'm not getting cichlids, so no worries there.


Any other suggestions?