Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i know little about vivarium lighting requirements and i was wondering if i could post some info on my enclosure,and see if you guys could reccomend a lighting idea that would work.my set up is currently 23"tall,18"wide and 18"deep.i currently have one 20 watt esu reptile super uv coil lamp(screw in florecent)and since i felt that it wasnt enought light(my cage is tall and when i placed my hand near the floor,it cast no shadow at all)i also added a sylvania spot grow light.i have the back half of my lid screen,and the other half is glass.i have limited my lighting to only fit over the screened part in a belief that any light filtered through glass is useless for plant growing.i now think i am wrong but still unsure.if light can be filtered through glass,then i have a large available strip on my cages top perfect for a strip florecent(like vitalight)anyway,those are my dimentions.id like to keep the 20 wt esu super uv but toss the spotgrow light but unsure what i should add.i also dont know the output of the 20 wt esu super uv,nor do i know what the reccomended amount of light is(so i dont know how much more i need)i would like enough light for optimal growth and enough for it to reach the floor 2 feet down.id like to toss the spotgrow because of the heat it generates and when any plants get near it,the leaves are turning brown on the tips.

I was going to stay out of this, but since glass filters out 98 to 100% UV lighting and plants don't utilize this spectrum anyway, why use it at all? The other rays that the plants will utilize do penetrate glass. If they didn't the glass greenhouse nurseries would all be out of business, and they aren't.
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Patty
Pahsimeroi, Idaho

4 D. auratus blue
5 D. galactonotus pumpkin orange splash back
5 D. imitator
6 D. leucomelas
4 D. pumilio Bastimentos
4 D. fantasticus
4 P. terribilis
4 D. reticulatus
4 D. castaneoticus
2 D. azureus
4 P vittatus

thanks patty,and im glad you didnt stay out of this.i use the uv light for my snakes sake(sell for the sake of his high blue colors)but the second light i guess can be any light that will work for the plants.so what youre saying is,any florecent light will work?? id like to toss the sylvania "spot grow"because of the heat it gives off and i wanted to replace it with another compact florecent,but i didnt know if a regular 5 dollar compact florecent(thats not advertised for plants)would be as good for the plants as the 30 dollar reptile compact florecent thats full spectrum.please let me know if that will be fine for the plants.if so ill pick one up tonight.assuming it is,do you think a pair of 20wt compact florecents(one full spec reptile and the other basic florecent)will be enough to light a cage 24"tall by 18" wide and 18"deep???

The better the light the better the plant growth in the tank. Also the more intense the light the better the color in the plants.
If you are willing to make your own light I recommend the kits from AH Supply (see www.ahsupply.com/). When using these kits pick a bulb that is close to the length of the top of the tank. For example in a 20 extra high tank I have two 55 watt pc bulbs on the top of the tank.
Here are a couple of pictures of one of the tanks I setup using the lights (when it was first planted and after the last trimming (and I will probably removing the begonias to allow for more space on the bottom of the tank).
The top picture is from when the tank was planted and the bottom picture is from a week or so ago (and the varigated impatient is in the back right corner in front of the cork).

Ed