Habitat - Indoor :: Tank lighting (under ATBA)

[OtisDriftwood]

I have a ATBA in the works, and I'm trying to figure out how to light my tank after the basking bulbs will be blocked with the basking area.

For reference, this is what it looks like now



The ATBA will be a removable three sided wooden box with a wood framed acrylic front, and a tile platform. The plan is to have it come a few inches short of the back of the tank so I have room for my filter hoses, and I'll more than likely cover that space with egg crate. My first thought was to put a light in that area, but I think it would just backlight everything, and I would lose the effect seen above. My next thought was using waterproof led strip lighting along the inside bottom of the ATBA.

Has anyone used led strip lighting? Is there a better idea I'm not thinking of?

[steve]

Could the LED strip be behind the tank? IKEA sells a bunch of different ready to use kits.

[OtisDriftwood]

I have a cling background that is semi transparent. Having a light behind it may look kinda cool. I think I'm going to end up putting lights on the bottom of the ATBA structure too... just gotta figure out the best way to do it.

When I do figure it all out, I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and post a how to.

[steve]

I think it would look better behind a translucent background too. Make sure you use a GFCI with all the electrical stuff close to the water.

[OtisDriftwood]

I tested the strip lights I got today behind the background. It would look pretty cool if I did a better job putting the cling on there, but it just highlights all the bubbles I didn't care about fixing

They look pretty good just going around the front and sides. I just posted a build thread. I spent four hours waiting on the cable guy and had nothing better to do this afternoon

[steve]

Just saw the thread, it looks very promising!