Not many options for 30"?

Ok so I'm looking to upgrade my current lighting to T5. I would do MH but they're just wayyyyy too expensive right now.

The issue I'm having is that almost every lighting set I look at has either 24" or 36" assemblies but I have a 30" wide tank. Will a 36" work? I guess I could just suspend the lights but I really want something to sit on top of the tank, not hang Am I just being too particular? Will other lengths work? I'm sure this is a dumb question

 

http://www.marineandreef.com/Coralife_30_T5_Aqualight_Nova_30_inch_T5_Aquarium_Lighting_s/338.htm

last one on the list is 4 x 24 watt T5s - but I struggled to find any others at that size

 

I had the same problem a while back. I went here and got the Sundial unit. You could get 36" and adjust the legs. There will be a little hangover on both sides which I don't think harms anything. It just pure aesthetics at that point, whether bad or good is really up to you. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the help guys!!! +K

 

In my eyes getting a 36" unit will only waste you money and electricity... I would opt for one MH pendant or a QUALITY 24" t5 unit. The over hang of the light is going to cost you money to light up your floor.... To some that is no big deal to other fruggle reefers that isn't a good idea.
What are you planning on keeping?

Happy lighting!

 

Not a dumb question, so many choices.I just installed 24 inch to my 44 gal five sided corner tank yesterday , works great! Tank is actually 32 in. wide, so I attached pieces of wood to the plastic feet to extend them.Go with HQI now if you can swing it,especially if it would be your first choice, so you wont be shopping again soon!

 

I plan on keeping a few mushrooms, some duncans, maybe a sun coral. I'm looking more at LPS and some polyps because they don't have such a high lighting requirement.
My tank is a 25g, 40lbs LR, 1" sugar sized sand and just 50/50 single tube for lighting
Current inhabitants are: oscillating dragonet, 8 blue leg hermits, 1 scarlet hermit, 1 peppermint shrimp, 1 non-descript snail that came from LFS thought to be an empty shell for my hermits, copepods

 

A decent 24" T5 will grow any of those inverts. Heck a 30" PC fixture will grow any of those inverts.

Happy decisions!

 

Thank you for the input! I had a thread about non-photosynthetic corals but I would prefer to go with just lower lighting requirement corals, LOL. Non-photos will be way too intensive and high lighting req's just can't be suited yet. I like the looks of LPS and polyps better anyway...I love the flowing look of them.

 

The Hagen Glo T5 HO Ballasts have brackets which are expandable. A 24" fixture will fit your 30" tank. I have the 48" fixtures on my 110 Gal and they can expand to 65". They are really well built lights and have caps for the end connections to protect against moisture. They come in strips of one or two lights and are fairly compact so you can use a few fixtures if you want to add more light.