Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been doing ALOT of research and planning for my 30 gallon long tank
I ordered some stuff from blackjungle.com including a bunch of ghost wood
but I am still VERY confused about lights after reading I was lead to believe that I need a power compact light so I found this one:http://store.yahoo.com/lamps-now/362xcofraq2x.html
6700K 2X 96W
36" 2x96W Coralife FRESHWATER Aqualight, 2x 6,700K, -Square Pin
198.95 with mounting legs

do you think that will be good?
how do I heat the tank? I have a couple of stick on heaters from when I used to keep tree frogs-but I don't know where to put them
if I put them on the back I don't think the heat will be able to get though the cork bard and silicone thats going to be there
and if I put them on the bottom I don't think they will be able to get through all the gravel and dirt and moss thats going to be there. if I put them on the sides will it be OK? what should the temp be?
where can I get a digital humidity/temp monitor??? I have seen a few people with them and someone said they got it at wal-mart but when I went there they didn't have it and when I asked about it they had no idea what I was talking about.
I don't want to use the stick on temp and humidity gages because they look really ugly and I don't think I will have anywhere to stick them.
I have seen alot of people doing land/water set ups and I am thinking about it-but how do I filter the water? is it better to have half land half water with a plexi glass divider or to have the water under the whole tank and the gravel level lower on the pond side?
What plants are good for a beginner?
I don't want a bunch of ugly pothos-I want ferns and other nice looking plants- I just don't know what they are called or where to get them.
as for moss I have heard a TON of different stories but I need to know what kind of moss is the best to use?
I want to get moss to grow on my ghost wood-how do I do that? do I just put java moss on it and wait for it to spread??
what is the best kind of moss for covering the ground?
sorry about all the questions but I want to do things right
please try to answer all of them.
thank you

-Matt

The lights that you talked about would be ok. Its alot of light though. If the tank is only 36 1/2 X 12 1/2 X 17 1/2 you can just use one 96 watt power compact. The light is not for the frogs but the plants you are keeping. For heating you can use a under the tank heating pad. These work great. As long as the temp stays in the high 60's you should be fine. I have most of my frogs in ten gallon tanks with no heat. The house stays around 70 at night and in the high 70's during the day. As of getting a digital temp unit walmart does have them I have seen them. You can also go to Homedepot or lowes depending on where you leave. If the tank is covered mostly by a glass top with a small section of screen you shouldnt have a problem with humidity. Companies do sell a combo unit that does both temp and humidity its not cheap but its great. Two prodes one for temp the other for humidity. You should have some type of water feature like a false bottom set up or just a water fall in the corner. This will help keep your humidity up. Well I hope I answered your major questions.

so I can use a 36" 1x96W Coralife FRESHWATER Aqualight, 1x 6,700K, -Square Pin(http://store.yahoo.com/lamps-now/361xcofraq1x.html)
and still keep moss? and other plants??
that would be cool because it would save me $100
any other opions or answers to other questions?
thanks
Matt

OR would the 36" 1x96W Coralife Aqualight CF hood w/ 50/50 -Square Pin

be better?

-Matt

I would use the 6700K unit. That would give the tank a more natural look. The 50/50 would look blue. As for the moss its really up to you. I like the pillow moss. Some people can not grow it and some can. The sheet moss looks good too. I think its harder to keep but thats just me. There are lots of plants that you can put in your tank. Most of the ferns do well. Creeping fig does great and climbs on cork to give a natural look. Look at black jungles list of plants. All of those plants do well in a terrarium given they are put in correct places.

That coral-life hood is the same one I use on my 46 bow. I love it. It has two cooling fans and it is on legs, no tank overheating to worry about.

2 cents
Joe
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4.0.0 Tinc Patricias (darn it)
0.0.5 Aurotaenia
0.0.2836 Pea Aphids
0.0.4392 Springtails
0.0.1842 FruitFlies

I would go with 2 6700k lights, should be enough light.

As long as your house is in the 70's I would not worry about heat. My tanks heat up a degree or 2 from the lights, but other than that stay about room temp. So from 70-75.

You can get a Thermometer & Hygrometer:
[url]http://www.bigappleherp.com/[url] under heating, the one with dual probes for $34.95.

I have one and it works great. Can not beat a digital one. Most of the analog ones will not go over 80% humidity.
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Kyle
www.kylesphotos.com
Dart Links - still a work in progress
1.2.0 D. leucomelas
1.1.0 D. azureus
1.0.1 D. imitators

Matt,

In my humble opinion, lighting is really rather simple if you know what you are looking for. Here are the basics you need to know to set up a lighting system for your tanks, and things you need to consider:

1) Lumens/Intensity: Lumens are a measure of visible light output (intensity). Compact Fluorescents produce about 2x the amount of lumens per watt as regular fluorescents. I have ~10,000 lumens worth of light over my 59 gallon terrarium that is 2 foot deep. The deeper your tank, the more lumens you need per square foot (there is a mathematical equation you can use if you are interested, but I don't want to muddy the waters right now).

2) Light Color: Many people have strong feelings about light color, which is measured in degrees Kelvin (you often see it referred to as 2700K, 3500K, 5000K, etc.). The higher the number Kelvin, the more blue wavelenghts are in the light. 6500K is the color of light at noon. 5000K is generally considered to be a good full spectrum light color. However, lights of both of those colors are going to cost premium bucks in comparison to those running in the 2700K-4100K colors. For plants, I've found that if your intensity is high enough, a 3500K-4100K bulb will give you great plant growth and brom color without breaking the bank.

3) Bulb configuration: Do you want screw-ins or a pin-based system? Your answer to this is likely to be dictated by the availability of bulbs, how you want them mounted, initial costs, and whether heat buildup might be a problem. With pin-based Compact Fluorescents, you can mount the ballasts outside the hood to reduce heat buildup (you can't do that with the screw-in type). Pin based setups allow for a more streamlined setup. However, you'll probably have to order bulbs and ballasts for a pin based system. In the long run, pin based systems can be cheaper than the screw-in type because the ballasts are built into the screw-in type, and it can be difficult to find the screw-in bulbs in high wattage configurations (in my experience) locally.

4)Regular Fluorescent or Compacts?: Let's be honest, you don't NEED compacts to have a nice looking tank. If you choose lower light plants, you can get good, lush growth from 3-4 regular fluorescent tubes. Just buy good bulbs and line the top of your tank with 'em. However, don't expect great color on your brom's, lots of java moss growth, most orchids, or growth from some of the other "high light" plants.

That's all I can think of for a good crash course of what to consider. I'm sure I have missed something, and others will help me out with this. However, this is what I have learned in buying and using lights in this hobby. Just remember that what light you "need" is completely based on the plant types you "just have to have" in your setups and the amount of money you want to spend. In all honesty, I think too much is made of bulb color for plant growth, and $20 per bulb is just too much IMHO.

Best of luck,
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

so what is considered "high light"?
thats where I get confused
if I go to buy a plant it saids it needs "high,low or medium" light
what is considered what?
what is the light I am going to get considered?
thanks

Not to confuse the issue any more than it already is, but I will have to disagree with Homer regarding regular fluorescents and plant growth. As long as you have enough fixtures and are using the right bulbs, there is no problem and will achieve excellent results.

I believe most people fall short because they use only 1 bulb, because that is the fixture that came with the tank. Save yourself some money: buy the tank at the aquarium store and the light fixture and glass lid at Home Depot.
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David Knight
Tempe, AZ

3.0.1 D. imitator
3.2 D. leucomelas
1.2.1 P. terribilis (mint)
0.0.2 D. azureus
0.0.1 D. tinctorius (Alanis)
0.1 D. tinctorius (Brazilian cobalt)
0.0.4 D. auratus (Panamanian green and bronze)
1.1 M. madagascariensis
1.0 P. hypochondrialis

www.frognet.org/gallery/davidknight

Quote from my post: "Let's be honest, you don't NEED compacts to have a nice looking tank."

How are we disagreeing?
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

np
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David Knight
Tempe, AZ

3.0.1 D. imitator
3.2 D. leucomelas
1.2.1 P. terribilis (mint)
0.0.2 D. azureus
0.0.1 D. tinctorius (Alanis)
0.1 D. tinctorius (Brazilian cobalt)
0.0.4 D. auratus (Panamanian green and bronze)
1.1 M. madagascariensis
1.0 P. hypochondrialis

www.frognet.org/gallery/davidknight