I am still in the planning stages of setting up my tank, and for nights I have found myself wading through Amazon and the lights section of multiple websites looking for an affordable light that will meet my needs. I am willing to put a little extra money into getting decent lighting so that hopefully I will not have to learn from my mistakes and purchase different lighting in 6 months. So I'm not looking at the cheapest options but I'm also not able to afford the high end $600 lighting at this time. I am trying to hopefully stay around a comfortable $250 although I realize lights are important and I might reach a little deeper in my pockets if need be.
The tank I am wanting to set up is a more unique situation, I think, because it is not only rimmed but it has an open canopy on top. I do not think the lights with the mounting arms will work here. I have thought about somehow mounting them to the wood but then it would make it more difficult to remove the canopy if for any reason I need better access the bottom of the tank.
I am planning on getting a glass lid to cover the tank to hopefully keep the dust out and keep the critters in. I considered the lights that can lay across the top but I'm not so sure those are strong enough for corals. This tank is 36 inches long and 21 inches deep being 16 inches wide at the widest part of the bow.
I am considering lighting that I would have to hang and hoping that I might find something that hangs down into the canopy. I was thinking about hanging a bar down from my ceiling and then suspending the lights from that to give me more play with how far down they they come. My ceilings are 8ft tall and my tank stands about 68 inches tall with the canopy.
Can anyone bounce some thoughts/ideas around for me on this? Anything that you wish you knew when purchasing your first lights? Any recommendations on lighting greatly appreciated.
The tank I am wanting to set up is a more unique situation, I think, because it is not only rimmed but it has an open canopy on top. I do not think the lights with the mounting arms will work here. I have thought about somehow mounting them to the wood but then it would make it more difficult to remove the canopy if for any reason I need better access the bottom of the tank.
I am planning on getting a glass lid to cover the tank to hopefully keep the dust out and keep the critters in. I considered the lights that can lay across the top but I'm not so sure those are strong enough for corals. This tank is 36 inches long and 21 inches deep being 16 inches wide at the widest part of the bow.
I am considering lighting that I would have to hang and hoping that I might find something that hangs down into the canopy. I was thinking about hanging a bar down from my ceiling and then suspending the lights from that to give me more play with how far down they they come. My ceilings are 8ft tall and my tank stands about 68 inches tall with the canopy.
Can anyone bounce some thoughts/ideas around for me on this? Anything that you wish you knew when purchasing your first lights? Any recommendations on lighting greatly appreciated.
