lights for 55 gallon, slightly off topic

[ladypheesh]

I am setting up a 55 gallon freshwater that is only going to hold guppies. I will only be using a few hardy plants, so quality of light is not a major issue.

I was wondering what are my options for cheap lights for a standard rectangular 55 gallon. Cheap strip lights are fine. But even the most standard 48" fixture I have seen is like $75. Am I just doomed to that price point or are there other options?

I have seen pictures of people having 2 smaller light fixtures, like perfectos, but I don't have a center bracket. Any chance this would work?

Thanks!

[RyanG]

You could build a hood for the tank and run florescents depending on you plant needs. You can get a shop light fixture for about 10 bucks at home depot and then pick out bulbs in the 6700-10000 kelvin range,thats optimal growth range for plants. It will be a low watt tank so you would be very limited in your plants.

Other than the DIY approach $75 isnt really all that bad. Just remember though that keeping plants in a tank is very similar to keeping corals(just easier because they dont sting). The plants have very specific lighting and fertilization needs. If it were me this is what I would go with to get you set up with a nice lo-teh planted tank
TEK-2 T5 Retro Kit, 48" 2 x 54W lamps by Sunlight Supply - AquaCave

Also if you want decent lighting for your aquarium and wanna keep plants you can go to your local head shop or hydroponics store and those guys can fix you up too, just dont use any of there ferts theyre too strong, use Flourish and Flourish Trace Iron should be plenty.

[ladypheesh]

I figured that was going to be the bottom of the price range. I'll have to see if pheeshes is up for some DIY light action!

any other reccomendations still appreciated! Thanks!

[RyanG]

Here a nother link that gets you set up with bulbs for around 100 and its for your sized tank.

DIY Light Hood - The Planted Tank

[RyanG]

By the way Lady and Pheeshes if you all ever have any questions on any planted tank stuff please feel free to ask, thats actually something that I have a bit of knowledge and a bunch of books. You could set this DIY hood up in probably an hour or so with a saw and a screw gun. Theres no wiring involved. If you do decide to go with it I would buy a one or two bulbs that are higher than 10k they will be more pleasing to the eye as the bulbs need for optimum plant growth can leave a yellowish hue. The higher kalvin rating produce a more blue or whitish hue the higher the rating the more blue you will get.

Are you guys getting into a guppy breeding hobby?

[ladypheesh]

well kind of... here's the long story short.

my little sister has a 10-gallon that we set up a couple years ago. we started with 2 males and 4 females... what do you know... we get tons of babies. So many that at one point my mom was just giving them away.

In the meantime, some guy gives me and my husband a 55 gallon. It's in our garage now.

My sister is no longer interested in caring for the tank, but doesn't really want to say goodbye permanantly to the fish. So we are taking the 10 gallon to use as our quarantine for our 75 SW, then setting the 55 up in our basement to house the guppies so that they are still "in the family", and we are putting our freebie 55 to good use instead of letting it sit in the garage. I'm not planning on putting a lot of money into the guppy tank because I don't have time to be really serious about 2 tanks, especially since we are in the really early stages of our 75. (no fish yet, just LR and CUC.)

So I guess the answer is yes and no. We will definitely have guppies that breed, but I am not too concerned about breeding them as a serious hobby. I am planning to use live plants as decoration but don't want a serious, heavily planted all-green tank. Thanks for all the advice and help so far, and I will definitely go to you with my freshie questions!

[UnderwaterWorld]

I've been thinking about setting up a fresh tank, but probably won't

I know Dr Foster Smith sells Nova Extreme T5 for freshwater tanks

[RyanG]

You can do some selective breeding and line breeding if you see traits/color paterns that you like with guppies. There are some serious competitions and show for fancy guppies. Setting up a regular freshwater tank is wicked cheap and even a low tech planted but the higher you go with your light the more expensive/extensive it can get.

IMO fancy guppies are one of the most rewarding FW species. I dont keep them now just because I dont have time to do the breeding process I would like to get into it in the future.