For the lighting in this setup I wanted something that would fit in the canopy I was planning to make (limited space lengthwise) and I wanted to use fluorescent T12 lights, since I already had a fixture with 2 ballasts and 4 pair of end caps. The lighting from 4 T12 bulbs worked well, I was able to grow glosso that clung to and covered the substrate (until it got too full and started growing up with gusto).
I made my fixture out of the aluminum that is used in siding (my brother works in siding and gets this stuff in rolls). He just cut me a section, snipped the corners and bent the sides up using a 2x4 as a straight edge to aid the bending. The inside of the aluminum was already painted white. I had originally planned on adding curved reflectors behind each light, but this has actually worked great so I never bothered going back and adding them. I bought a piece of aluminum rod at home depot and cut two pieces to fit across the fixture for support and to hold the fluorescent endcaps. I took apart the fixture that I had and mounted the ballasts in the stand. The only thing left was the wiring which I originally just ran behind the stand in a big mess of wires, but I have since cleaned it up.
You can see from the picture that I was no longer in an apartment when I built this. The work area in my garage was quite an upgrade from the deck of my apartment.
Positioning end caps
This picture is of preparations for my first setup in my previous house.
My only concern with this fixture is that condensation builds up in the fixture each morning. The light still functions great after a year and a half of use, but I think I will do something to waterproof the end caps. The lights are grounded and I use a GFCI outlet but I would feel better if I knew there were no exposed connections.
I’m thinking about adding two more bulbs before I set this tank up again. Like I mentioned earlier four bulbs did a pretty good job, but I think six bulbs will make growing certain plants easier.