# hood and lights question.



## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I'm about sick of the light that came with the horrid lid of the tank I have. It's LED, provides minium light, makes growing plants very tricky, and is black so I can't use it with different lights.

The measurements of my tank seem to be a bit off for most replacement lids. I need at max a 15 1/2 x 7 3/4 lid or one that's slightly smaller. Do y'all think this one will work, it's a glass lid, but does not include lights https://www.amazon.com/All-Glass-Aq...93&sr=8-1&keywords=16+inch+glass+aquarium+lid Does anyone know of a better solution? I hate to go without a lid, I worry about stuff dropping into the tank, or Monet jumping out of it, not to mention evaporation.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a relatively cheap light, if I go with that lid?


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Get a lid and a Finnex Stingray.


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## Kadington (Apr 14, 2016)

I agree with @ThatFishThough Bang for your buck they are the one of the best. The only problem I see with them is they aren't super waterproof, meaning of you accidentally drop your led in the tank it could short out. Another good one is Satellite but same problem.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I'd love to get a Stingray, but I don't know if it'd work with the lip on my tank, if I also get a lid for the tank. Tank is a cheap Aqueon 5 gal. I also cannot afford another $41 on the tank at the moment (that's the price on Amazon), since I have to get my dog's heartworm and flea preventatives. LOL If 

I spend $41 on a light I might as well throw in another $30 and get the Fluval tank I've been dreaming of! I really, really, want this tank.... https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-...e=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent Might start a gofund me acct....


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## Kadington (Apr 14, 2016)

Well if you just want a light on the tank, get a standard desk lamp with a grow bulb. No need to even get a lid, evaporation will be a bit of a struggle but it wouldn't be that difficult.

Something like this : https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Hgrope-Flexible-Gooseneck-Greenhouse/dp/B018HQSXB6/ref=pd_lpo_86_bs_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NQ4F60ND3PKNYFJK4ZW0


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

Well on Friday I can let you know how well a glass lid and a Stingray work together. My lid should be delivered that day. Another option is a clamp light, which you can get for like $6, and a sprial CFL. Cheap as heck and grows plants great. You just clamp it to the back rim of the tank and you're good to go. It works with glass lids since you can cut a piece out of the back plastic for the clamp.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

Thanks I'll definitely be interested to know!


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

For inexpensive HW and Flea stuff go here:

Pet Shed - Pet Supplies at Discount Prices!

We've been ordering from them for 20 years.

What are the measurements of the Aqueon? If it's a rectangle you can get the 12" Stingray if you have a canopy. I have top cover on some of my tanks instead of canopies. There is evaporation but with just one or two tanks it should be easy to maintain. The top cover helps, too. I also have canopies and the plants still grow very well.

Stingray


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

I ended up going with this hood Aquarium Hoods & Canopies: Aqueon Versa-Tops Drs Foster & Smith had it for $8.99 and this light https://www.amazon.com/COODIA-Ultrathin-Aquarium-Lighting-Extendable/dp/B01NBRPJCN/ref=sr_1_155?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1492459136&sr=1-155&keywords=aquarium+light for $19.99, so both together was under $30, since I used the TAXBREAK deal they have going on at Drs Foster & Smith that give 15% off of the order and $3 of Amazon points I had built up. 

Hopefully the lid works alright with the light. I think the light will be O.K. for what I'm growing atm.


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## sabrinah (Jan 2, 2015)

My hood shipment was delayed and wasn't delivered until about an hour ago. I have a similar hood to what you got, and the Stingray has similar clips/risers. They will work together but the light will most likely be resting on the hood, not screwed tightly to the rim.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

sabrinah said:


> My hood shipment was delayed and wasn't delivered until about an hour ago. I have a similar hood to what you got, and the Stingray has similar clips/risers. They will work together but the light will most likely be resting on the hood, not screwed tightly to the rim.


Glad to know they work. I was thinking that may be the case with the lights, or that I'd have to clamp them to the lid. Unless I've missed my guess that lid is going to be slightly to big for the tank, but should still be doable. Considering that my clear canopy atm is two clear, plastic, bowl lids taped together and the LED light taped to the lids anything will be an improvement :laugh:


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

The light has arrived. For the price it isn't bad, and I still plan on updating later in the year, I just couldn't afford better now since I had Zody's (my dog) heartworm and flea preventatives needing to be bought. Anyway, like I said, overall it doesn't seem bad, but I dearly wish it came with instructions. Assembly wasn't hard, but I had to go searching Amazon's review section to figure out how to get the lights from solid blue to solid white. To do that you need to turn the light on and off till you get to your desired color, or color combo. The lights sit a good 4 inches or so above the tank and are very thin. 

Friday the lid and cave I ordered will be arriving. Here's hoping they both work!

A picture of the tank with the new light, it's amazing how much better I can see in the tank, hopefully the plants will start growing better and faster, the anacharis is looking shabby and the banana plant is a very light green.


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## Rainbo (Nov 23, 2015)

For anyone interested in how the set up turned out.

At first I left the light clamped to the tank and balanced the canopy on the clamps of the light. I decided that was slightly dangerous and also defeated the purpose of having the glass canopy in the first place. 

I decided to put the canopy directly on the tank. I tried setting the light on the canopy but with the clamp part it was sitting 1 inch higher then it was when it was clamped to the tank. I noticed that the clamp part was hinged so that the light could flip back, I broke the clamp part off at the hinge and sat the light on the canopy, that left the light at the height it would have been had it been clamped to the tank. 

Overall the set up does not look bad. The light is not extremely bright and I doubt that it would work for plants that like a lot of light, but for moderate to low light plants like I have it's great, and my plants are finally growing and getting greener. The canopy is not a perfect fit for my tank, it's a little large but not so much that it's unusable. 

Here's a couple of pictures of the tank so y'all can see the setup. If you compare it to the pic above you can see how fast the plants are growing. Oh and one of Monet, because I think he's gorgeous now that his fins have grown back.


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