Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm trying to upgrade the lighting on my tank and would like some suggestions.

My tank is a 72 gallon Bow Front. The current lighting is, one 5.0 Repti-Sun and one Plant Bulb, both are 40 watt fluorscents.

I do plan on adding two more tubes eventually. I would like to
try one of the "Moonlight" bulbs to run for a few hours in the evening and 3 day bulbs on staggered timers. Can you make any suggestions on Kelvin ratings or specific bulbs? I would like to have a combination of the following:

1 - Plant Bulb

1 - Full Spectrum Bulb (High noon type bulb, to run for aroud 4-5 hours)

1 - Viewing Bulb (that would help to bring out the most vivid colors of my frogs and fish - this would be the only bulb burning in the evening during prime viewing hours)

1 - Moonlight Bulb (to be run by itself in the early evening, just after lights out)

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, what about switching to compact fluorscents vs overdriving the lights?

Thanks,
Tim

neat viv.! actually im not really sure what im using for my viv. i had someone else set up the lights. i have 2 compact natural white light simulator (19 watts. i think...) and one purpleish bulb i was told is similar to a black light, it gives of a really neat glowy blue-purple effect! so i assume i didnt help much but id love to see more of your tank! what do you have in there and how big is it?
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0.1.0. Leo
1.0.0. Sneaky House Gecko
0.1.0. WTF (looking for a male!)

devious_froggy -

The tank is a 72 gallon Bow Front, truly separated land and water Paludarium. It houses the following:
Land
- 1 D. Tinctorius (M)
- 1 D. Leucomelas (M)
- 1 D. Azureus (M)
- 3 Anoles (1M/2F)

Water
- 2 Dwarf Gourmies (M/F)
- 4 Long Fin Zebra Danios
- 6 Neon Tetras
- 1 small Cory Cat
- 1 small Crayfish
- 2 Dwarf Claw Frogs

You can see more Pictures here - http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/index.pl?user=28848&cat=500&thumb=1

Tim

np

http://ahsupply.com/index.html

Hey Tim great Viv! Anyway I've 1 x 36W and 2 x 11W compact light on my tank, just wanna ask how well are your java moss growing, coz I intend to get some java moss as ground cover...

DeZ - My Java Moss is growing well in the water and on any of the surfaces that remain wet, but has not spread as a land cover.

Tim

First, let me start by saying very nice viv.

I am trying to imagine what exactly you want to accomplish with you four different lighting requirements. Having different bulbs won’t really make that much difference in a tank that size. By “plant bulb” I am assuming you mean a 5500K bulb? 5500K bulbs work well in small planted fish tanks in my experience. Mixing 5500K and 6500K bulbs together won’t really give you a dramatic change in light. The higher Kevin bulb may drown out any ascetic benefit of the 5500K regardless. If I were you I would set up four 6500K power compact lights, maybe 36 watts each. Set them on timers slowing turning each on over the course of the day.

Creating a 24 hour light cycle is often used in larger reef aquariums. The actinic colors bulbs are used in combination with the 10,000K bulbs to create a full day of light. One trend is to then use “moon lighting” to create an eerie night time effect giving you a complete 24 hour cycle. Very cool, but it can get expensive.

I am slightly confused by the “Moonlight bulb” you mentioned. There is a florescent tube that is sold called Blue Moon Light. I believe it is just an actinic tube and not what you are looking for. True moonlights are slightly different. This link will send you to the new “MoonLite”

MoonLite

Using true actinic lighting would really be a waste IMO. Nothing in your viv would really use light from that spectrum. Even a 10,000K will give you light that is too “blue” in my experience for planted vivs. Stick with 6500K.

HTH
-Richard

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1.1.4 D. auratus

Richard -

Thanks for the detailed reply.

I guess what I am looking for is something similar to what you have outlined.

1. 8:00 am - 10:00 pm, 5500K bulb plant specific. This is the bulb that would provide the best viewing spectrum. Do you know of a color spectrum that would bring out the best coloring of the frogs and fish? This would be the only bulb lite in the evening, during viewing time.

2. 9:00 am - 9:00 pm, 6700K bulb full spectrum

3. 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm, ????K high output bulb (simulate high noon). This could be another 6700 or maybe 9325 or 10,000. Is there anything to be gained with the higher K ratings?

4. 9:30 pm - 11:30 pm, ????K Nocturnal viewing bulb. I don't think the actinic bulbs would work for the viv. But is there a bulb for nocturnal viewing that will not disrupt the animals? I have tried a black light and it does not illuminate the tank enough.

Thanks,
Tim

I guess the point I was trying to make here is that the plants really don’t care what the bulb is. 5500K will appear to be more yellow to the human eye, while 10,000K will look bluer. Lights are not “plant specific” the same light contained in the 5500K is available in the 6500K for the plants. 5500K like I stated earlier work best in small dim tanks to make them appear more yellow and lush. In other words, having 2 6500K does the same as one 5500K and a 6500K. The higher Kelvin bulb will wash out the 5500K. So its basically pointless to have both. The plant does not care. Try this combination.

1. 8:00 am – 10:00 pm, 6500K bulb. (will bring out better colors for viewing fish and frogs)
2. 9:00 am – 9:00 pm, second 6500K bulb.
3. 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm, third 6500K bulb. (10,000K will just give the tank a blue color which won’t benefit the plants at all.)
4. 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm MoonLite x 3. These shine like a spot of blue down. Angle them to the water.

Bottom line: Actinic lights are a 100% waste in this case. 10,000K bulbs are not necessary and will make the tank appear more blue than you want. The 5500K will give you a yellow look which will be washed out by the 6500K anyway. Stick with 3 or 4 6500K bulbs. Black lights are terrible for fish, think about what you are blasting the fish with!! Never use them.

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1.1.4 D. auratus