5 Foot Long Mountable Light

[Jon M]

Hey guys. I recently set up a new 90 gallon tank. It's five feet long and I'm having trouble finding a mountable light for it. The longest length I can find is 48." I don't like having two just sitting up there because if they aren't mounted the cat will move them around so I need something that has mounting feet that will reach from end to end.

I actually have this light http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Li...T5_Dual-Lamp-T5HO-Light-Fixtures.html?tc=fish in the 20" model for a 10 gallon planted tank I used to have and the legs stretch out way further than 20" since they angle outwards but I want to make sure before I purchase the 48" model the feet have an extra 6" on each side and will fit the 5 ft tank.

Any thoughts guys? I know I'm not the only one with a tank over 4' long and I've seen plenty of large setups on here with lights that reach end to end much further than 4.'

Maybe someone has experience with this specific aquaticlife model and can attest to the full length the outer end of the mounting feet can reach?

 

[DMD123]

Five foot tanks are pretty cool but they are a pain if you want an exact size light fixture. My 120g (60x18x26) had two cheap fixtures that each held a single 24" tube. Its barely adequate to light up the tank, esp. with a taller one like mine. So I'm sure a 48" T5 dual will totally light that thing up. Or if you absolutely want the fixture to fit you could try the 60" made by Perfecto which I believe Big Al's also carries. This was one I had considered before I decided to just stop the spending on my "growout" and just started saving up for my 210g (still setting it up!)

 

[Jon M]

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I see the 60" light you're talking about on bigal's but it doesn't have mounting. It's just the design that sits in the lid...

I have euro bracing on my tank in the center like so,

...and the wood grain trim actually goes around the euro bracing and sticks up. So with that light it would just be sitting up there not held down at all and a cat would just lean against it and push it off the back or crooked in no time. If I was going to just sit a light up there I'd go buy a 4' shop lamp from Home Depot for 20$.

I don't mind getting the 48" T5 light so long as the extra mounting legs that stick out, stick out far enough to grasp both sides of the tank. Like, my 20" light is 20" and the feet angle outwards and need to be pulled way in to fit on a 20" tank. I know it will be the same with the 48" light since the measurement goes by the light itself and not the mounting feet that stick out, I'm sort of trying to find out if the feet add an extra 6" on each end. Yeah know?

And I bet the T5 will light it up great, like you said. I have the 20" one mounted in the center on the euro bracing now and that's lighting it fairly decent believe it or not.

EDIT: Well I checked ebay and they have tons of T5 60" mounting lights as low as 80$ free shipping. So maybe you can help me with this one here. How exactly do these mounts work??? http://cgi.ebay.com/60-T5-HO-Aquari...795?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f92c6d63

It sort of looks like they hook from the inside and sit on the outside of the tank?... But with a tank lid on I don't see how it would have room to sit inside the rim of the top of the tank...

 

[philfreenode]

that looks scary

 

[aclockworkorange]

Jon, that light you linked to is an Odyssea brand fixture... Thought a name might be helpful for research. I have some of their older fixtures (before they switched to the external ballast design). They're not bad, but I cannot comment on the newer design.

I do have experience with the current design of Catalina fixtures, and they make a 60" fixture dual T5HO that can be mounted with the legs they sell (if you email or call you might even get the legs for free).
Unlike odyssea (Chinese), these are made in the US and are higher quality, but they are a bit pricier. If you have the $200, that is what I would recommend. Their customer service is great IME as well.
Here is a link:
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=71_190&products_id=1422

Odyssea is also sold on a site called Aquatraders which is based in the bay area (CA). Catalina is based in Sacramento, CA.

Hope that helps a bit. I'd go Catalina myself (and I have experience with both brands).

 

[Jon M]

that looks scary

Hell yeah it looks scary. That's definitely not my tank. I was using it as an example.

Yeah, aclockworkorange, I just ran into that light and saw it was 60." I'm not willing to spend 200$ more like 100-120$ max. What are we thinkign about that odyssea fixture? Looks decent enough. Anyone have any idea how the mounts work though? It appears to push out from the inside of the tank and sit on the lip and if that's the case the lid would be in the way?...

 

[Matt724]

If I were you, I think the cheapest way to get the light fixture that you want is to build it. DIY LED fixture plans are all over this website. Or you could get 2 smaller lights and hang them over the tank so that your cat can't knock them over. A simple thin chain on each side of the light from the light to the ceiling should do.

 

[Jon M]

I considered hanging one for sure. I can see my cat trying to get up on it though and rocking it back and forth, possibly falling on the tank and spooking the fish, and I don't know about the extra weight on the ceiling. It just seems like I could be asking for trouble hanging it from the ceiling.

See, on my 125g setup, out of building the stand, canopy, filtration, the hardest part for me was definitely the canopy. I need to check out some diy canopy's with lighting. I couldn't find any decent ones on google search.

No comments on the light I linked to? It is reasonably priced, T5, and has mounting fixtures. Just not sure how the mounting fixtures work...