i would really like to have some lights in my tank 29 gallon 36" long, but i cant afford the extra money for good lighting. is there a semi cheap way to make my own? i like the diy aspect because it gives me something to do. (and i think im good at it) no corals but maybe some anemones or other inverts. plus i know it will make my fish happy.

Go to home depot........get some ballasts and some bulbs. A little wood and BAM lights. You can get a (replacement cord) for drills, thats heavy enough and get a kit.......or you can just buy the ballasts and the T5's T8's or 12;s and go from there. You can get a kit for 36 inch light fairly cheap.........but then you would have to build a hood. Hood lights and ballast would probably cost you 70 to 80 bucks. I built my refuge light for 35 but I just screwed it to the stand my tank is on. runs 40 watts on a 20 gallon refuge. You can do it no problem, you could build the hood run a cord out the back and all that jazz. Home Depot has a three foot four lamp fixture for I think 25 or 30 bucks. Not bad...........but its T12's and your only looking at just enough light. I just saw a VHO kit for 130.........which would run two bulbs and give you 190 watts. Not bad......

thanks made my own hood and put some home depot lights for plants and aquariums pretty cheap but makes the tank look nicer

i used a 24" single light super cheapo fixture. i saw that they had a bulb for aquarium plants and aquarium fish health. so i screwed it under the new homemade hood which dosent look bad and wham light that actually shows off the rock, looks real good. cost for light and fixture 20 bucks i think more like 16

Question: The balasts form the hardware store. Are they to start those regular 40 watt flourescents?

I've been using them for years.

do any of you guys have experiance with VHO bulbs? I was looking at getting four 36 inch bulbs giving me about 5.6 watts a gallon. Any opinions on that? Its about 300 dollars cheaper than a halide system with similar attributes.