Do It Yourself DIY on the cheap twin 48" or 36" or 24" ect.

I am frugal, I got two kids and our professions dont pay much but we dont hurt if I keep things frugal.


Home depot

I went 48" because thats what I needed, size accordingly to tank size.

48" lithonia twin t-12 fixture for 8.99
two 48" 6500K 40W tubes from the walmart 3.99

Basically take your existing strip light, and strip it but strip it smart, dont cut wires or break screws. take it apart and clean it well, then you take the new twin tube apart and the piece that secures via hook and chain or screws(the top plate) screw that to the existing plastic housing, reassemble the unit and run the wiring thru the little hole, reattach the switch to the new unit just like it came off, white is neutral,black is hot,green is ground, then reattach the reflector piece and install the bulbs, flip over set on top of tank(I have a provision in my hood to accept this, might need to make or acquire some feet to raise it up a smidgen. plug in and enjoy

all I have is before and after, I run off memory not pics , im kinda old school, and fail to take pics every single time(but own 5 cameras,dumb right?)

This is before, you can see how the strip light fits snug(too snug honestly)



here is after, I used sheet metal reflective tape around it and ZERO light escaped, all focused into the tank


the tape is gone now, had to remove hood and clean it, never put it back on.

for less then 15 bucks, it was worth the 30 minutes of labor to switch it all over. you can go t-8 even t-5 but the price increases.
also look at hydroponic stores for fancy fixtures, they are usually 1/3 to 50% less then aquarium labeled products and do the same thing made by the same people.