Lighting

[Aspiemum2]

Does anyone use the overhead clip on lighting. My light unit is toasted (eheim tank) and I can't get a replacement that would fit.

My only thought is to remove the lid and use an overhead light

What do you think?

When I replaced lights in my hood, the new tubes didn't fit the clips.

B&Q (and other local providers) had stainless steel pipe clips that are now doing the job.

FWIW, I though that the plastic ones might degrade or leach chemicals under humid UV conditions.

HTH.

You mean make my own? I hadn't thought of doing that, no idea why as it's a great idea and would save me pennies.
Thanks, that helped a lot

I had those arcadia arc pod things. I found with both of them that the silver paint flaked off the clippy bit (plastic but trying to look like metal) and fell in the tank. They are only big enough for tiny tanks anyway

You could go with one of the overhead T5 things, they are a little more expensive, building your own sounds much cheaper!

What hood have you got? Most of them are standard sizes, can you not mod it a bit to fit in a T8? You can get clips and they are easy to fit so my DH tells me and that would probably be the cheapest option.

The tank is not a standard size but the design of it means I'm unlikely to be able to use an alternative such as jewel.

The light forms an integral part of the hood. I've approached the idea with dh who said "yeah ok, I'll knock up a new hood and sort the lighting" followed by a quiet sigh which means "you and your bloody fish"

But he's going to do it . Any useful links to stop him screwing it up help give him ideas?

Have already spent a week trying to find a replacement. Have distributed some plants to different tanks but have a feeling I'm going to have a lot of lost plants pita!

Ah, the familiar 'you and your bloody fish' sigh

I had a tank with a handmade hood once. My tips would be- if you're going to use wood, use hardwood and varnish it properly! Mine was pine and it warped so badly that I couldn't get the damn thing off after a while and had to cut it off so I could replace it.

Diy in the wet / humid conditions of the tank would probably be best in ply wood.

Local merchant does marine-grade with an oak finish.

Good luck.

Meant to say that inter pet did a modular hood 'system'

Light section was about half a foot deep with plastic ends and there were various depths for the rest of the hood.

Both came in varying lengths. I bought the next size up and cut back.