What kind of lights for a 36" 50 gal tank?

[jm667]

I have a 50 gallon tank that is 36" x 18" and 19" high and am trying to figure what type of lights to get to put under a canopy. I already built the stand, and plan to build a matching canopy to go over it. I have a glass top for it, and the tank also came with a single strip T8 fixture ( I have no bulb for it yet though but will get one if it is suggested to utilize this fixture). So what I want to do is either get light fixtures that can sit on top of the glass top, and still allow me to put a canopy over it, or to get fixtures that can mount to the underside of the canopy. I want to have a good deal of plants, but they will be low to mid light plants because I do not plan on injecting CO2. Maybe somewhere down the road when I learn about it, but right now I am already spending too much money on this setup! So for now I just want enough light where I won't need CO2 and won't get algae buildups. If something like flourish excel works in place of CO2, that will be fine. And if I find out that trying to get lights for a canopy is more trouble than its worth, I might ditch the canopy idea. I just thought it would look nicer with one that matches the stand rather than looking at a light fixture sitting over the top of it.