A quick recap for those who missed the first post....


"2x96w compact flourescents in a nice custom poplar
box. Pretty easy job really. Put the thing on top of the Versa-tops
on the tank and turned it on. Wow, that's nice, very bright, great
color, I like. I keep it on while doing some final plumbing, etc.
CRACK!!! Both sides of the glass top now have a nice set of cracks
from the amazing amount of heat these things put out. I know I should
have anticipated this, but as I said in opening, Stupid David. "


It has been a wonderful 3 or 4 days now. I finally received the two
new panels of tempered glass to replace the old cracked pieces from my
versa-top, added some 3/4 inch "stilts" to the bottom of the fixture
and drilled 2 3/4" holes in each end of the fixture and Voila. The
light has been running for 12 hours a day for 3 days now and no sign
of any cracks or other problems. The glass actually seems relatively
cool to the touch now, perhaps the tempered glass was a bit overkill
but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Thanks to all who responded to my original post, as soon as the fish
and plants are in I'll be sure to post some pictures of my first ever
attempt at a "real" aquarium setup

David