Lighting for 2 foot 45l aquarium

[Stumpy]

I am in the process of setting up a new aquarium but unsure about lighting and dont have a big budget (using my old quarantine tank). I plan to have it well planted and can add co2 if needed. Is there any recommendations on lighting suitable? ideally would like it to fit under the cover the tank came with but are there any advantages to getting rid of the cover?

 

[mow said]

led is the way forward you can either build you own or buy one online. And one advantage of getting rid of the cover is you can get access easily if you need to trim , plant or remove things in there. But also water will evaporate in my 160 l tank i replace around 5-7 litres of water in the summer and during winter no soo much. Check my thread on diy led you might want to build your own as its not expensive at all
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/led-diy.49569/

 

[PARAGUAY]

The advantage of a no cover tank are like mow said says.Better for most floating plants and emersed planting and growth,the wood or rock could be above water level easier for work and maintanance. I have done it on my 55 gallon.Its Aqua One. If on a budget and I a basic LED floodlight about £10 in daylight spectrum would be a economical starting point.You only need basic DIY skills to setone up

 

[Stumpy]

Thanks for advise if I had more time I would go down the DIY root but for now I have ordered a Hinterfeld RGB thingy, hopefully it is up to the job.