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Well I am turning my current tank more into a planted tank, and to do so I am upgrading my lighting and adding C02. But i have a slight problem. As of now i have a black plastic canopy on my aquarium with the lights inside of it directly exposed to the surface of the water. The lights have seals around them though and the lighy fixture which is built into the canopy was designed that way. Heres a picture of my tank of how it is now...

and since the current hood only allows me to insert 2 20watt fluorescent bulbs.. it only gives me just over 1wpg. My tank size is 32g and im aiming for 2wpg or more. So i was thinking of going with a single 65watt power compact fluorescent fixture. but my problem is i would need to get rid of the canopy i have now.. and get a glass top someting similar to this... http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3790

how do these normally fit onto the tops of aquariums? my tank length is 31.5 inches and the best fit size of one of those versa tops is 30 inches so i think there would be a bit of a problem there. i would also have a problem mounting the coralife PC fixture with the moutning legs.since the one i am going to get is 30 inches also.
or i could just let the fixture sit on top of the actual glass top itself, right? i may have to make something myself for the glass top... so anyone have ideas as how i could get a access door on it? this is kinda hard to explain but i did the best i could.

edit: i cannot post a picture of the hood for some reason.

The ones you linked to probably wouldn't work for your use. You need a plain glass one without any plastic except the hinge and handle. It should fit any standard size tank. If you don't have a standard size tank you can buy the hinges and handles seperate and then get plexiglass locally. Most places will cut to your own specifications for cheaper than you can buy them already made. You can also have them cut out gaps for the legs or I think you can cut the already made hoods to make gaps. Most lights can also be set directly on the glass provided they have good vents and fans to keep from overheating and also heating up the tank.

woops sorry it was one of those flash sites that doesnt change the url when u go to a diff page. i fixed the link now. it goes to a diff site.

The legs for the Coralife lights allow you to place them onto tanks that are wider than the light itself by a good 2" or 3" so that wouldn't be a problem.

Agree with the above that your best bet would to just purchase the hinge and plastic rear piece (they come in various lengths and can be easily cut to size), then get your glass locally at a glass shop or many of the larger hardware stores stock and cut glass to size.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

So how would I rest the glass on top if the legs from the lighting fixture need to sit on the sides? get the glass cut in that area? how could i secure the glass to the aquarium? and these hinges and rear plastic pieces... where can i get these from? i have also seen the sliding glass tops that actually sit an inch inside of the aquairum... i think those are pre-manufactured into the aquairum though.

Well one fixture I have leaves enough of a rim that the glass can still sit on it provided it's shifted over a bit. Otherwise you can either cut the glass there and it should still have enough support or file the inside part of the leg on the light. That way there is just enough clearence it can sit over the glass and the weight will be on the middle of the leg where it sits on the top of the rim. However if the light is too far forward and sits on the front glass panel you still wouldn't be able to open the lid. It depends exactly how your fixture sits on the tank to determine the best way to modify it. One of my tanks is open top because I put a big fixture on a narrow tank and couldn't find a good way to modify the top. Instead I put a plexiglass strip on the bottom of the light fixture.