65g Light?

Hey guys,
Found a really good deal for a 65 gallon aquarium plus stand and canister filter ($70!). The only thing it's missing are lights. I want to tackle lighting as cheap as possible ( around $20 ), it also has to be able to keep plants alive. and I thought of a few options.

1. 36" aquarium hood, I can get that for around $15 on craigslist, it comes with a bulb. QUESTION: is one fluorescent tube good for a 65 gallon tank?

2. I was thinking of buying shop lights and making a DIY canopy with the lights/suspending lights over the tank. I can't find any cheap 36" shop lights but the 48" ones are wayyy cheaper. QUESTION: is it ok to have 6in of excess lights on each side? Are the cords included with the shop lights? Or will I have to mess with wires?

3. A guy is selling his finnex planted LED 24/7 for $69... is that a good deal?

4. DIY CFL light fixture in DIY canopy of aquarium. QUESTION: how do I tackle that? Do I buy those hanging style sockets and adhere them onto the canopy?

Thanks for any input!

(If this post is in the wrong section, please move it)

 

Hey!
I'm in the process in finding new lights for my 6 foot, 125 gallon, tank. I'm in the same boat as you because 6 ft and 3 ft fixtures are not common, which means they're expensive! Ive been looking around and I've been thinking about one of these:
(Plus its prime) I'm thinking that you should go with the 36-47 5730, but I have no clue what the difference between them are..

Hey I will keep an eye over here, but here's my thread. 125 Gal Lighting Question

 

Hey!
I'm in the process in finding new lights for my 6 foot, 125 gallon, tank. I'm in the same boat as you because 6 ft and 3 ft fixtures are not common, which means they're expensive! Ive been looking around and I've been thinking about one of these:
(Plus its prime) I'm thinking that you should go with the 36-47 5730, but I have no clue what the difference between them are..

Hey I will keep an eye over here, but here's my thread. 125 Gal Lighting Question

Thanks! Does this light meet the requirements for plants.

Another problem I'm having is that a 65g is a very tall tank, so if I run fluorescent lights or leds how much extra would I need?

 

Lol LED prices are insane.

How about an LED strip? Comes with a remote, you can wrap it or tape it to the hood, it will be very bright, waterproof - and best of all USB so you can just plug it into a phone charger.



I use these, sans the remote. 10$ for 4 meters, which is like 12 feet.

 

Lol LED prices are insane.

How about an LED strip? Comes with a remote, you can wrap it or tape it to the hood, it will be very bright, waterproof - and best of all USB so you can just plug it into a phone charger.



I use these, sans the remote. 10$ for 4 meters, which is like 12 feet.

I think I saw a video about it, King of DIY. He said that strip lighting is not enough for plants?

 

I think I saw a video about it, King of DIY. He said that strip lighting is not enough for plants?

I'm not sure. There is supposedly a "growlight" LED strip, but I never used them.

I do have this:
And it works fine, but I only have land plants.

 

I'm not sure. There is supposedly a "growlight" LED strip, but I never used them.

I do have this:
And it works fine, but I only have land plants.

Did some research and supposedly the wattage isn't high enough to grow plants... supposedly strip LeDs are for fish only aquariums... kinda down for the strip leds seemed perfect...

 

I used a 20 ft LED strip on top of my old 55 gal. I saw a video from Joey on DIY fish keeping, and it didn't produce enough light for my plants. I had to supplement with a used t5 fixture and plant bulb (it was only planted on one side). I believe the link I posted has enough for growing plants, but I'm still doing research and looking for answers as well.

 

I used a 20 ft LED strip on top of my old 55 gal. I saw a video from Joey on DIY fish keeping, and it didn't produce enough light for my plants. I had to supplement with a used t5 fixture and plant bulb (it was only planted on one side). I believe the link I posted has enough for growing plants, but I'm still doing research and looking for answers as well.

So you had two lights plus a led strip? Was the led strip only for brightness? Did it do anything else?

 

So you had two lights plus a led strip? Was the led strip only for brightness? Did it do anything else?

No it was strictly for decoration, I turned off the t5 unit for a couple days and my plants started to look bad! It was the RGB light with all different light settings.

 

So I went with a twin bulb 48" T8 store light fixture. It was $10.97 at Menards, plus they had the 11% rebate on. I figured that the price was hard to beat, and five in of excess light would do no one harm. I got two 32 watt daylight (6700k) lights. Now my question is... how in the world do I make the light stand on its own. Since the 65g will be 37" long, I will not be able to construct a DIY canopy like I had previously hoped for. The light was for stores, it came with chains for hanging, which are 10" long, the tank and stand together would be 55" tall, therefore, the light would be about 30 in away from the surface of the aquarium if I hung it from the ceiling... is that too far? I was thinking an extension of the hanging chain would make it closer to the aquarium, but is that safe? If not, how do I make a diy light stand? Any links to something diy that looks neat? (I like the look of the store lights so I want something like the finnex products, if possible)