36 Gallon Aqueon Bowfront Lighting Suggestions

[wzoa]

Hi! I'm getting back into this hobby, and just got a beautiful 36 gallon bowfront. Are there any good options for retrofitted lighting with the lid it came with? I don't plan on keeping sps, but still want the option to keep a wide variety of low-mid light coral.
My ideal situation would be to not replace or get rid of the lid, because I like the way it looks and how it keeps the water loss low - but I understand if that's not possible!

 

[fishski13]

whats your budget? Cause with that lid it is going to be difficult to find lights thin enough to fit into the lid and be able to be so close to the water. Most lights you need to hang or mount a certain amount of inches above the water surface and with this, the light can get the right spread, spectrum, and par.

Plus, with that lid you are limiting the amount of air flow, although it helps with evaporation, it prevents to air into getting into the system, which means you could have oxygen and pH problems especially if you dont run a protein skimmer or anything that helps with oxygen.

 

[wzoa]

whats your budget? Cause with that lid it is going to be difficult to find lights thin enough to fit into the lid and be able to be so close to the water. Most lights you need to hang or mount a certain amount of inches above the water surface and with this, the light can get the right spread, spectrum, and par.

Plus, with that lid you are limiting the amount of air flow, although it helps with evaporation, it prevents to air into getting into the system, which means you could have oxygen and pH problems especially if you dont run a protein skimmer or anything that helps with oxygen.

My budget is - greatly prefer under $150, cheapest possible that won't break in 6 months. That's a good point about the air exchange, I didn't realize that could be an issue. Guessing I should look into just chucking the lid?

 

[fishski13]

My budget is - greatly prefer under $150, cheapest possible that won't break in 6 months. That's a good point about the air exchange, I didn't realize that could be an issue. Guessing I should look into just chucking the lid?

Yeah I would, you can get a lot of black boxes out there for under 150, just need to do your own research on which one is best for you spectrum and spread as I am not too familiar with them.