Lights burned out - no PC's available?

[marmari]

Hi fellow hobbyists,
I have a 55 gal tank that we got at LFS, but I didn't think much of the size of the tank -- its 40" long -- till my lights burned out (I had a pair of T5's). FIrst of all there was nothing wrong with T5's its just been 3 years and who knows? Maybe it was time. But since I have another tank and it has PC lights, the growth there has been so wild, that needless to say, now I only want PC's for my 55 gal, 40" long tank. BUT, it turns out, no 40" lights are available on the market -- the "standard", apparently is 36" !!! I had no idea I had a non-standard tank; what should I do??? If anybody knows where can I get PC lights to fit my tank or any DIY solutions, I'm all ears! I don't want to go over $200 budget with the lights -- I've got to feed my bill collectors, after all.

[Matt Rogers]

Some PC fixtures come with 'legs' that extend out to the edge of your tank. There may be one that can cover the 4 inches.

[coral reefer]

The four inches at the end of your tank are not as crucial! Also, light tends to become less focalized and less intense the further from the source, moreover light emitted from your fixture will spread and cover a larger amount of area the further from the source it is, similar to a flashlight. Think of the travel of light as a triangle with the light source being at the pinnacle(top) of the triangle!