I need a new hood for my 5 gallon betta tank because the light keeps going off and on. I went to the local pet store, and an all glass brand one costs about $30, which is a bit out of my price range. Anyone know any cheaper places or where online i could get one?

Hi Grain!

Wanna save a few bucks?

You might not need an entirely new hood for the tank. Instead, 1 of two things needs replacing:

Either the bulb has gone bad, or the starter has.

The starter is the little can shped metal thing that rests just behind the bulb. it's job is to create a static charge towards the center of the bulb so that full ignition is achieved. When they go bad, the lights will flicker or quit altogether. The best part about the starters is that they are DIRT cheap. Just pay your local hardware store a visit and one of the store clerk will be able to direct you to the correct sized starter for your fixture.

Once you get the starter, all you have to do is turn the old one til it pops out and replace it with the new on by twisting it into place. VIOLA! working lights!

Hope this helps!

Thanks Paul
-I think it is the starter, or one of the other fixture type things...because the bulb itself works just fine...but it will like go off and come back on at random times, usually it is either off or on for hours at a time...very strange indeed.

-i have been searching online though, and i have found that hoods are rather expensive, and i can get a completely new tank for about $10 more than just a hood. What do you think of the all glass mini bow aquariums? or even the eclipse ones..they have the light and the filter (which is a biowheel, i think) built right in the hood?

Those are neat little systems but they don't allow much for adding equipment or upgrades, you know? I am much more interested in a regular tank that I can pick and choose the equipment as I like. If you aren't thinking of upsizing or upgrading any time soon, they might just be what you'd like or need.

My personal favorite set-up for aquarium hoods is the all glass toppers that have plastic hinges buit in. they come with the standard plastic cover that you can custom cut for any equipment scenarios on the back of the tank. They are glass so any light coming from the ceiling in the room penetrates the canopy.

As for bowfront tanks, I really like how they look! I just haven't been lucky enough to have one...... yet.

glass top sounds nice!!
-i'm not going to upgrade it anytime soon. it is just for 1 betta and that's it. I got him for my mom about a year and a half ago (how long do bettas live anyways?) and i had a snail in with him, but the snail died. But he seems to be really happy in the 5 gallon...I had him in my old 10 gallon for a while too, but he didn't seem as happy as in the 5 gal, so he's in there now. I saw a cool eclipse 5 gallon corner tank that looked nice. I'm just not sure about the filter being in the hood...
but it is still up to my mom..if she wants to move him to a corner, i'll get that one...if not, i'll get one of those mini bow fronts where you can pick the color tank you want.
-say, do you know about bettas? do they get lonley? is there another kind of fish he could be with? (space isn't an issue, i'll have an empty 10 gal and 30 gallon soon)

Bettas can actually be kept with quite a few different types of fish. BUT, they shold not have long finnage whatsoever. And the fish you keep them with should not be fin nippers either. I have had great success in keeping a couple cories in with bettas. Other good fish to try would be siamese algae eaters (true SAE's, that is). There are some others that work. Maybe asking a few keepers in the betta forum would enlighten you on some more possibilities. However, the 5 gallon will only leave you enough room to maybe get 2-3 of either I have already suggested.

Perhaps the very best tank size for bettas is between 3 and 5 gallons. They seem to do best in them. This is no wonder when you look at the watering holes and rice fields they originally came from. Shallow water that is VERY heavily planted with slow moving currents.

Your Moms betta sounds like he's got a great set-up there. If he seems to like it, stay with the same size.............


Hope this helped!

i got a 5 gallon "mini bow" made by the all glass company. I really like it a lot! It is very pretty (got it in teal color). I am thinking of getting one for myself as soon as I move the black moor into the main tank


i will either get a purple one, or get my mom a red one and take her teal one

The red ones with red gravel sure look nice!

they do! I think my mom wants a red one..her betta is red too.
I like them all really..especially with a nice background on them, it really brightens it up so much more
yeah, i'm definately getting one!