Michael

Hornedtoad, I think the spiral cfls would work on a 55. My 20 tall has the tubes about 6" above the top of the tank, and about 20" above the substrate. For a 48" long tank, you would need at least 3 cfls, and 4 would be better.

hornedtoad1

thanks, michael, that's really great to hear--i'd thought maybe it was a crazy idea. four 26w bulbs should work; i can use the 8" reflectors.
here's a shot of my current system--it's pvc, and the bars the lights clamp onto are on chains so they can be raised or lowered.

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Z400

I just recently sold our 40B planted set up.

I was using a Aquasun 2x39w T5HO fixture, did a terrific job.