One thing I would like to point out here is that the depth of the tank has a lot to do with choice of "proper" lighting needs regardless of what animals/plants you are keeping. This being a 10 gallon tank which is shallow, T5 lighting would be quite strong for such a small tank, so be careful not to over light the tank. Not only will too much lighting contribute to algae growth but it can also affect animals in saltwater situations and plant growth in freshwater situations.
Not knowing what you are keeping in this tank, I am still going to suggest standard fluorescent lighting to you simply due to the depth of your tank. For freshwater, standard T8 fluorescent lighting is strong enough to grow Amazon swords, which is a plant that requires high light, and is also strong enough for saltwater to grow anything but things such as some of the SPS corals that require very high lighting.
Because T8 is sufficient to grow almost anything in that size of a tank, jumping up to T5 lighting would be overkill in my opinion, and would likely cause more harm than good as an end result. Standard T8 lighting can work well over any type of cover and will fight right over the standard deluxe hood the same way the incandescent fixture does now.
The "screw in fluorescent" bulbs that I heard mentioned in this thread are something else I have to question. This sounds like compact fluorescent bulbs to me, and that is another I would avoid because CF lighting can put out a great deal of heat as well... much more so than incandescent. For that reason I would avoid those since that would simply add to your current problem rather than resolve it, and has the potential to melt the plastic of your deluxe hood/cover that you are currently using. There are some situations where CF lighting can work great... but over a 10 gallon tank... not so much.
Also to clarify the info I posted earlier about the quality of LED fixtures... there are a few on the market that are excellent, but the cost for them would make no sense if standard fluorescent will resolve your problem and suit your needs. You would be talking about a difference of anywhere from $50 - $100 for a good quality LED fixture vs standard fluorescent T8 lighting to get the same results. Unless you are keeping something such as special SPS corals in a saltwater situation, I don't see that as being worth the extra expense, thus my recommendation to not bother with the LED for this tank. It simply wouldn't be worth it. T8 doesn't give off excessive amounts of heat such as the incandescent or CF bulbs would, and should be plenty to fix your problem without raiding your pocketbook.
Dawn
--- In AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com, "rachell7" <rachell7@...> wrote:
>
> What do you use for lighting in your tank? My 10 gallon still has the original hood with incandescent light blubs which need replacing far more often then I like and do contribute to heating my tank, great in the winter but not so great in the summer when it's 112 outside! But with summer here, to keep the heat down, I borrowed the hood from a friend's empty 20 gallon tank that has florescent lights and I like it. So now I am thinking about changing to either the florescent or LED. Give me your opinion please! I believe Dawn you said you use the LEDs when I commented on your photos?
> Rachell
>
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