DIY newb! Lighting

[chefstylez]

Hi everyone, hope everyone had a good time at the swap. There were alot of nice frags and great prices on everything else. Great to meet some of you first hand.

My question is that I want to supply my tank with the benificial lighting for sps, and I dont know how to build my own canopy for it or if there are any fixtures I can buy. I have a 29H perfecto tank and the dimensions aren't fit for any of the lights except for a couple of MH fixture such as the Sunpod 30 and I think an Orbit. I really would like a 4 bulb T5 fixture or maybe 175W MH w 2 T5 supps. I dont have any tools for building a canopy except for a powersaw and a drill but I guess I can try.

Dimensions on the tank are 30",12",18". I know this is a small tank but I really dont mind the overkill on lighting. Right now I have a Corallife fixture delux w lunar lights (w/c are busted), and a coral life 24" T5 fixture. They both do the jobs for my softies and LPS but I recently picked up a couple of nice sps and want them to prosper.

If anyone has suggestions or someone to point me to what I want to achieve that would be great

Thanks in advance for the advice and time.

Mark

 

[boardryder]

You can buy a custom made canopy or do it yourself if you are handy and have all the right tools. Do some research and talk to some lfs, they can help with a catalog. I myself would like to build my own ligting and canopy, but maybe on my next tank. I figure you can get one of those retrofit kits or buy all the stuff at an electrical/hardware store. On a side note I have found that some of the fixtures you can buy already have timers, fans, etc built right into the unit. I find that a big plus.