the plastic it is made from is very thin. but it seems like it is going to work well. I also think if it had an air stone at the bottom it would work better(the air just comes out of a cut piece of tubing). the light is very bright and red. I had to peel away the black sticker off the back of the nano cube and clean the glue off. that was the only hard part. I would think that running the light 24hrs would be best but they say start at 8hrs a day and move up 2hrs a week until you find the right amount that grows best. I also rubbed some hair algae on the screen to seed it. I will put up a few pics when I have a chance.