My lighting sucks and I'm trying to add lots of plants to my tank. Lighting made for aquariums is ridiculously expensive, so I'm going to go with a couple T8 32 watt shop light Daylight bulbs - 6500k. I haven't gotten a fixture yet, but it'll be a T8 fixture. All shop light fixtures seem to only be able to hang instead of rest on the lid like my current light does, I still have to figure out how to hang the light over my tank without drilling into the wall or ceiling. I really like pvc pipe, so maybe I can do something with that.
The light I have now came with the lid which comes in two parts. The light rests on a strip of clear plastic in the center of the lids. But the lid's pretty dead too, so I'm thinking of just getting a cheap plexiglass panel and cutting it to make my own lid. I'd like to make it really simple and just cut out two pieces to fit each half of the tank top, drill some air holes in them, and then just silicone a couple handles onto each half. I hand feed several of my fish, so the lids with small rectangles that turn up so you can drop food in are pretty useless to me anyway. I need the whole top off.
So my questions for you guys:
Has anyone built a...um..thing lol to hang a light fixture off of without drilling in the wall or ceiling? If so, how did you do it?
Has anyone built their own lid? If so, how did you do it?
Do you think my way would work?
If I build my own lid out of 5/32 inch Twinwall plastic sheet, which is cheapest (72"x36" for under $14), can it be damaged by being under the light all day? Will it melt??!!
The light I have now came with the lid which comes in two parts. The light rests on a strip of clear plastic in the center of the lids. But the lid's pretty dead too, so I'm thinking of just getting a cheap plexiglass panel and cutting it to make my own lid. I'd like to make it really simple and just cut out two pieces to fit each half of the tank top, drill some air holes in them, and then just silicone a couple handles onto each half. I hand feed several of my fish, so the lids with small rectangles that turn up so you can drop food in are pretty useless to me anyway. I need the whole top off.
So my questions for you guys:
Has anyone built a...um..thing lol to hang a light fixture off of without drilling in the wall or ceiling? If so, how did you do it?
Has anyone built their own lid? If so, how did you do it?
Do you think my way would work?
If I build my own lid out of 5/32 inch Twinwall plastic sheet, which is cheapest (72"x36" for under $14), can it be damaged by being under the light all day? Will it melt??!!
