**Update 8/21/18**
Technically this is an update for yesterday, but I was running around so much yesterday I didn't have a chance to post.
First off, fixed the first post pic. So that's progress! I went through and painted two of the last three remaining tanks just like the first ones when I got home from work, so now 5/6 actually match! While measuring the inner lip gap to figure out how much material I'd need for lids I made a little snafu because I didn't notice the difference between the two manufactures tanks. I measured the width correctly on one tank, but the length I measured with the AGA tank and it threw me for a loop. In the long run this resulted in lids that were a wee bit short on length as a friend at a local hardware store cut some extra duty glass for me to use as lids. I went to re-measure the top frames again and noticed that the odd child of the group was way different than the rest. The 6th tank, an old All Glass Aquarium (AGA) tank was way smaller than the Aqueon branded tanks that I'm now running. So with that being the case, I'm going to end up not setting that tank up and retiring it. The lids I had cut were 8" x 9 11/16" where I needed the 8" to actually be a 9.25". Overall I was planning for a bit of a front to rear gap to allow a gas exchange rather than creating a glass steam box, as well as to allow wires and any hoses to enter from the rear portion of the tank top. This will work out in the long run as I plan on running these panes as the front pane and getting the rear pane a little longer.
I was still expecting the lights to show and had not seen or heard the USPS driver come by. Then while looking out my back window, I noticed something odd on my deck. It seems the USPS person was nice enough to leave the package in the covered portion outside rather than leave it out in the elements on an overcast day. +1 to my mail delivery person! The lights I ordered were by a brand I'd never heard before, NICREW, but for $38 shipped each I figured I'd give them a try. They are primarily white LED's with blue accent lighting that I can't turn off, but they don't look horrible. I'm more concerned if the plants will appreciate the spectrum being provided. Per the reviews, I read a decent amount of people had success with this light and plants and the pictures on the reviews were decent enough to support the fact. I have to admit that the units are BRIGHT. They are either on (white with blue), on night light mode (blue), or off. Pretty simple and something I can attach to a timer, so I'm content. I was able to zip tie one of the lights on the second row to the underside of the top shelf and this spread the light out a little more, as well as provided working room. I might have to go through later and suspend the top light in order to get the same working room.
With the lights now on, the lids cut to fit and setup so that 4/5 painted tanks I decided to fill the top three tanks, throw in two air stones to circulate the water (since it's all I had sitting around) and kick on the heat mats. An hour later, I saw that the tanks were getting up to 81.5F when I had the controller set to 81, so that's just what I'm after! When I get home tonight I should be greeted by another package containing new pots, a timer, and the circulation pump I was going to test out. Since I can get pics working now I'll provide an update with them. Till then!
