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Re: Lighting (getting very frustrated)



Sylvia,

> While it may be have been apparent to someone else with greater imagination
> and ingenuity than me, I finally, after months, figured out that I've got to
> rig together some type of glass covering for the tank, and not use my
> existing hood, or even the stock sold glass tops by Perfecto, because of the
> way they are hinged.

If you already have the hinged glass covers, you may be able to simply order
glass of the right thickness to fit, effectively creating a Perfecto-style
glass tank cover that suits your particular lighting requirements. Almost
any hardware store (if they have glass of the appropriate thickness) should
be more than happy to cut glass for you to fit your dimensions.

I'd almost wonder if no one out there has found items that could be
purchased in place of the hinge and the handle. Really, that's all you need
from the Perfecto cover - the glass is almost automatically cheaper from a
hardware store, and can be made to your specifications.

> It takes awhile to get your feet wet. You don't have to be a Mensa inductee
> to keep fish and grow plants. And even a Mensa inductee wouldn't know what
> the hell's out in the market until they looked around for awhile. I'd bet
> there's a lot of folks lingering around here who have problems trying to rig
> up and accommodate lighting/filters/co2. Too bad Kim couldn't take the time
> to help me out. Whether he's got a better product, I don't know, and I won't
> find out.

Yep. I'm a newbie, too. And I've killed my share of plants on this lighting
issue. But if I keep plants from crowding the light out from each other, one
55W AHS bright kit over a 29G tank is pretty sufficient for me. Of course, I
don't do CO2, but this suits me well. Two of those puppies would be
incredible.

Personally, I can't recommend the bright kit enough. Whatever has happened
to give you such an aversion to AHS, I think you owe it to yourself to
reconsider. This is a *great* product, not only providing a lot of light,
but helping to channel it into your tank and not absorbed into a light
cover. I had a little help retrofitting my Perfecto light strip - the guts
are now in my closet - and despite the need for some drilling and minor
on-the-spot innovation, I think it looks great. I also think a simple
crate-style wood cover for one of these kits wouldn't look so bad, either.

Maybe he's got you mad, but the product is great. You've helped me out a
couple times when I've had really basic questions posted to the list - I'd
like to help you out. Just give the AHS kits a second look.

> Sylvia

-Nathan Wittmaier
Holden, MO