Lighting suggestions

[beckdg]

i must say, i did a little poking around last night and it seems ill will might be on to something. from what i can find it's probably species specific, but some broms will color up red in response/defense to uvb light. now, i don't see that as a cure all and i certainly wouldn't put a 10.0 bulb anywhere near one of my plants, but it might be something to consider as supplemental light.

of course there are problems to deal with...
that brom is near the bottom of a pretty tall tank... and uvb doesn't travel too far from a bulb.
uvb doesn't pass through glass well
possible harmful effects to other plants
possible harmful effects to any critters
possibly harming your brom if you push it too far... since the red would be a defense mechanism.

then again, we've seen pretty red broms without uvb too, so i think species would definitely be in question.

as it is it looks like there's been a dramatic change already. i'd see how that pans out before attempting anything else. i think it looks fantastic as it is. hopefully your brom agrees.

[Epiphile]

Originally Posted by beckdg

i must say, i did a little poking around last night and it seems ill will might be on to something. from what i can find it's probably species specific, but some broms will color up red in response/defense to uvb light.

It looks as though this is correct- thanks for bringing this up, ill will. I learn something new every day. How to explain good colouration in vivaria-bound bromeliads with glass tops and no UV-specific lighting?

http://www.charlies-web.com/specialt...thocyanin.html

[beckdg]

seems from that paper that bluer light might help too. i'd assume that may be species specific also though... might be worth a shot though. especially since we know the blue will penetrate the glass.

[Grimm]

Thanks guys. I think I will finally get some good Riccia/Java moss growth now Just because I bought more lights already doesnt mean the discussion has to end haha.

I already knew that the broms I planted in this tank would outgrow it soon, and the upper broms has definately gotten to big. Especially with the pup that is nearly the same size as the mother now. When I redo this tank I will be purchasing a lot of small Broms/Noes with thick and sturdy leaves. Plus I'd like to add a little colour to the tank so they will do the job nicely.

I actually took the scissors to lots of the pothos last night, aswell as that fig tree in the upper middle section. Trimmed back excess leaves, removed some of the remaining dead sphagnum, cut some of the root structures creeping from the pots, cleaned the glass, removed the broken temp/humidity gauges, and syphoned the water section. Looks like a new tank lol...Not quite, but at least its organized, clean, and bright now

[froggsong]

The (I think) exo 10.0 UVB bulbs actually have pretty good spikes in the color ranges. I am using my 10.0 UV bulbs that fit my UV fixture in the CWD tank. As the bulbs age, the UV output drops considerably, but then levels out. 10.0's level out at ~ 5.0, based on my research. Because I have an animal that needs 10.0 and one that needs 5.0, this allows me to use the bulbs even after their life has "expired". Now, taking into consideration that light output usable to plants drops over time, the bulbs I'm using aren't really all that bright from the plants standpoint because they are ~8-12 months old, but I find that they help with growth, even if they aren't necessarily keeping the reds up. I'm getting really good plant growth from the plants that haven't been scorched from the heat lamp (coming out now because I'm moving the CWD and the japaluras don't need the heat). The broms aren't all that red, but they are redder than they were before I took out my old 5.0 and put in the 10.0. I can't say if that indicates they will color back up, because it hasn't been long enough and the broms are suffering from low humidity and high heat. We'll see if the UV colors them up when they recover from the stresses they've been under with that heat lamp in there.

[bbehring]

I noticed there has not been any action on this thread for a few months. Am wanting to make sure I provide the right lighting for my viv. I'm building a very sim viv build to Grimm for my 2 crested geckos with a 24" x 18" x 24" exo terra with a waterfall and water area in the front portion of the tank. Lighting is a concern, especially for the front water portion of the viv to grow submersed plants (anubias, java ferns, mosses. Am thinking about buying the exo terro 24" long hood with 3 x 26 watt cfls for the back and a 4 x 24w T5 fixture at the front. Thoughts?