Lighting question for my newest project...

[AndyShores]

Ok, so I've read the pushpinned threads on flourescents, and decided compacts will be my light of choice since I'm gonna be housing hourglass tree frogs and a barking tree frog (temporary rescue) in a split viv.

My 1st question - Say a compact is rated at 25w = 100w. So does that mean I am actually getting 25w to my plants, or 100w? Always been confused on this.

2nd question - This is gonna be a large viv - 48L x 20W x 48H. For a heavily planted viv of this size, how much wattage am I gonna need for good plant growth?

Thanks for any info, and I'll post pictures as I build the viv in another thread - Andy

[froggsong]

You are going to want to get the 100w daylight spectrum (6500K) CFLs. They produce the same amount of light as a 100w incandescent bulb, but use only 23-26w and produce very little heat. When I went to buy the 6500K bulbs it took me a bit to find them, and they are a bit more expensive that the regular CFLs, but I can see the difference in my plants already. I'd say you need at least 3 for a tank that long, preferably 4 (one bulb per foot).

[AndyShores]

Thanks for the info. Where did you find the 6500K CFL's? I've looked for them before and never have found any

[beckdg]

walmart - look for daylight... color spectrum is usually listed w/a graph on the back.

please correct me if i'm wrong frogg as i have several different bulbs in my house and don't have these particular boxes lying around anymore.

btw box=pkg.

[AndyShores]

picked them up today, thanks

[froggsong]

glad you found them! When I picked mine up it was the first time I had seen them, and they were still difficult to find!