36" light on a 48" tank?

So I am moving. What a pain. And I thought maybe I should get a new tank, that way I will have an easier move and maybe something a bit bigger. But I realized I have a 36" CurrentUSA orbit with PC's.

And if i had another foot to deal with i probably would need new lights right?

That means more money.

Also where do you get cheap stands? or how easy are they to make sturdy?

Also currently I have a glass tank. And if I were to buy a new tank, I couldnt get an acrylic because I have HOB protein skimmer. ( I dont have a sump)

 

Yes you would need another light for a 48" tank. I had the same light as you on my 55 gal and it really didn't help anything. as far as the stand, look on craigs list or other forums have classifieds. some are pretty active. otherwise yeah you can build one, not too hard if you got the tools!

 

We built a stand for Kogle's 30g QT tank and you could put a ton of bricks on that thing! About $30 into wood MAX and you got it. I can draw up what we did if you are interested send me a PM and I will give you a rough sketch. He could also send you pics if you wanted. As for the lights, it sounds like a good time to switch to metal halides!!

 

hey man, i just spent the last week building a stand for my tank and let me tell you, if you build it right (which isn't that hard, plus it cost me like 40 bucks for everything) it can be very sturdy (as long as you have the right tools). Mine held me, which is about 200lbs...along with 3 cinder blocks. and if you get a bigger tank, definitely scrap the pc's...look into T5's or maybe metal halides!!

 

So it definately sounds like I would need a light upgrade. And I cant really afford that now. Sounds like building stands isnt that awful. I will look into what i can build.

Thanks everyone!