You can find single tube 3 footers at HomeDepot and lowes for $16.97....

-j-

Aquarium stores often have double-tube (and wider) ones.

j, thanks. I figured Home Despot etc. would have them, but the nearest box is a good three hour drive each direction. Gas is too $$$. I'm poor.

Having said that, nygardener, I'll check with our one or two aquarium stores, but I think they're $$$ too. Everything is $$$. I only make $ on a good check.

Pardon me; it's Monday, I have a sore throat, and I tend to whine anyway.

Thanks for your suggestions guys.

Korina

Home Depot sells 3-foot fixtures online. The single-light version j mentions is listed for $15.99, Internet/Catalog #324655. A double-light version for $26.49 is Internet/Catalog # 324727. (You can also search their site for the keyword fluorescent.) Shipping a couple of fixtures will add another $10 or so.

Is there a place near you that sells 36" bulbs? Many people recommend a combination of one warm-white and one cool-white. For the fixtures mentioned above, you're looking for 36-inch, 30-watt T-12 medium bi-pin bulbs (that is, standard 3-foot tubes). There are lots of places that sell fluorescent tubes online, but many seem to have large minimum order quantities (15 or more). Here's one that doesn't. A combination of warm white and either cool white or "daylight" should do the trick.

ny, thanks! Wow! You're going to keep me busy all day following all those links. Still $$$. ;-)

I've been using just cool white bulbs for almost a year now, and everything *seems* happy...

Korina

Well K, I don't think you're going to do much cheaper than a couple of mail-order Home Depot fixtures and some three-dollar cool-white bulbs. Two double fixtures, plus four bulbs, will cost you about $85, including shipping, delivered to your door (no gas). Them's the breaks! And, yeah, the whole clown shoes thing has me puzzled, too.

nygardener, $85 is a LOT of money to me, especially all at once. I'm going to finish re-arranging everything and see how it goes. If it doesn't, I can always go back to Home Despot. Thanks so much for your help.

Um, the clown shoes quote was a bit of random silliness I threw in -- it's from an unproduced script I was once coerced into reading. Just don't ask about the time-travelling Chevy Nova.

Korina

Yes, I realized after posting that I had been a little cranky. I hope you find a solution that works well.

I wasn't even going to mention the Nova, though I encountered it last week. It had set out this coming Fourth of July for some last-minute grocery shopping.