Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am going tomorrow to get a light for my 58 gallon tank. Right now it just has the strip light that came with it. I have orchids, bromeliads, mosses etc. and was wondering if the 36" Coralife Aqualight Single Linear Strip (96W Total) would do a good job with these plants. Or would I need the double? I also saw that they have the ones for reef tanks and for freshwater tanks. Which one would be best for my dart setup? For this light the say 50/50 actinic, can someone explain this? Will this make the tank look blue? I don't want the blue look. I just want my plants to look and do very well. Would the leg kits for these be needed to set it up from the top of the tank? I have an all glass lid.
Your help would really be appreciated.
Thank you.

I also just purchased a coralife strip. I chose the 2 x 65 watt to go over a 29 gallon I am currently working on. I am sure your 96 watt light would light your tank, but if you have bromeliads that turn red, or light loving orchids, you might want to go with the double strip if you can afford it. Also, go with the freshwater light. It comes with 6500K bulbs which will be better for a terrarium environment.
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Matt

What type of orchids are you growing? If you have shade loving orchids, you'll probably be okay. Your bromeliads will probably be okay as well, but if they are red Neoregelias, they may fade a bit. If they are Vriesias or Guzmanias, you're probably okay.

Like Matt said, you definitely want to go with the daylight bulb instead of the 50/50 actinics. Either 5000K or 6500K are ideal.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

I know this sounds terrible but I have no idea what kind of orchids they are. I got them at Home Depot and none of their plants have and tags or labels. One of the orchids has a real broad leaf and makes white with pink center flowers and the other has a broad leaf that makes a dark pink flower. It is the same with the broms that I got there, no tags, no names. They are your basic ones, green leaves and red feather. Thoses may not stay though. I ordered a Neoregelia lilliputiana X fireball and a Neoregelia meyendorfii (spineless form). I have java moss, Selaginella erythropus and Cryptanthus bivittatus minor.
Here is a link to a couple of photos that show the orchids if this helps.
http://www.etwildlifephotography.com/-/etwildlifephotography/gallery.asp?cat=3937
I really appreciate your help. I want to make sure and get the right lighting. I don't mind spending the extra to get the double if that is what is needed but I also don't want to go way overboard on the lighting and blast everything.
Thanks so much.

Sorry, I forgot these. I also have a Jewel Orchid- Ludisia discolor, some air plants and lichens (do these grow once they are rehydrated?)
Thanks

Nice setup. It looks like you have 2 Phaelenopsis hybrid orchids and a Vriesea brom. Phal's don't require a ton of light, but you can always tell whether their lighting level is right by watching the leaves. If the lighting is a little low, you'll notice that the leaves will turn a very dark green. It's unlikely to bloom if that's the case.

If too much light, the leaves will start to look yellow (not likely under terrarium lighting). A nice emerald green color is what you are going for.

Is the light you are considering a compact fluorescent or a regular fluorescent? If it's a CF, you should be okay with 96 watts. If it's a regular fluorescent, you might be running a little low on light intensity for the Neoregelias' best colors.
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Homer W. Faucett III, esq.
Purveyor of Trivialities and Fine Nonsense

Thank you so very much. The light that I am looking at is the compact fl. I saw that there is a Coral Life Aqualight Compact Fl. for freshwater and that one would not give the blue in the light. I will go with the single then and now I just need to find the best price. Would you suggest that I get the legs for it or would it be fine sitting right on the glass?
Again thank you.
Rhonda

I would go with the legs. They make the light very easy to work around. You could take your entire glass top off to work on the tank while leaving the light on. I have legs on both of my coralife cfs.

-Richard
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1.1.4 D. auratus

I want to thank you guys very much for your assistance. I ordered the single freshwater aqualight from HelloLights, got the legs got a free power strip and they matched the price of the cheapest price I found.
Thanks again.
Rhonda