i upgraded to the odyssea halides and it was much better.
i had the 36" model before that and i , too, coluldnt get the legs in seeing how the light fixture is as long as my tank and then the legs go in. I pushed them in as much as i could, but if i remember correctly, one side owuld keep sliding and the other would not (front and back side, not right and left...one side of each leg). So i think i just unhooked one of them and rested it on but it was still held by the other side of one leg, and entirely by the other leg.