Cheri wrote:
I bought over the net a SeaClear acrylic with hood. These hoods are
specially fitted for this aquarium. The hood came with ONE light socket,
although it is wide enough for two. There is a small plug haning off one
end of the socket, as though perhaps you could add a second fixture. I have
no clue how the fixture would be attached inside the hood, and I am no
electrician. I am having a slight problem with brown algae, and I read that
more light would help. Since I have live plants and want more of them, I
need more light anyway. Anyone have any ideas on this?
snip

It is possible to retrofit certain light hoods with light kits that
provide more lighting, such as compact fluorescents. I've used the kits
from AHSupply.com with good success in the past. You can also build your
own enclosures or find other enclosures that are better suited for the
lighting requirements of your tank. For example, I took the fitted light
hood (20 watt) that came with my 40 gallon acrylic, put it off to the side
and built a custom canopy with AHSupply fixtures for that tank instead.
When I got a 29 gallon acrylic that didn't come with a light, I did a bit
of retrofitting of the light from the 40 gallon. That light had a
removable top, so I removed that top, replaced it with a piece of
plexiglass and stacked a compact fluorescent fixture (55 watt) on top. I
then masked off the area the second fixture needed to shine through and
spray painted the rest of the plexi black outside and white inside for
reflecting. So now my 40 gallon has 85 watts in its canopy (a bit low, but
it's mostly java fern in that tank) and the 29 gallon has 80 watts between
its two stacked fixtures (which turned out to be a bit too high when the
similis destroyed everything but the swordplant).

You may get more technical responses if you post on
rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants or rec.aquaria.tech. The plant group is
probably the best newsgroup for this sort of question. Make sure you
mention the size of your aquarium and the types of plants you wish to add
in the future.