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tubby2_gw

Light for 20gal High aquarium

22 years ago

Hi, I am a newbie, and am considering making a terrarium from a 20 gallon aquarium. I am looking at a 95 watt compact flourescent bulb for the lighting. Would this be enough? Too much? The bulb is 6400K and 6000 lumens. I have searched the archives for info on lighting 20 gal. aquariums, but did not find an answer. Thanks in advance for any help.

-Burt

Comments (4)

  • 22 years ago

    Sounds good to me! However, 'enough' and 'too much' are relative terms. It entirely depends on what you want to grow in your terrarium. If you just want a nice, simple terrarium with some standard houseplants that like high humidity, such as fittonia, bromeliads, streptocarpus, ferns, etc. then 95W will be great. But if you want to grow certain 'high light' species orchids, then you will probably need more. 95 W will be enough to grow several orchids though, if that is what you want. Consider the jewel orchids, and if you make use of the height of your tank by using coir panels or corkbark panels, then you can mount orchids and broms. all the way up to the top of the tank, where the light is much stronger, and plan their placement accordingly. Your spectrum is right on, and compacts are a great way to go. Post pics when you're done! And welcome to a grand obsession. =)

  • 22 years ago

    Personally, the 95 watt CF sounds like overkill (but only by a little bit) for your 20 gallon terraria unless you are wanting to grow and bloom some really high light plants. I use 120 watt CF setup (~10,000 lumens) over my 60 gallon and successfully grow and bloom Dendrobiums and Cattleya hybrids. My light is even a bit bright for some of the lower light plants, and will stunt, burn, or wash out those lower light plants.

    I would probably go for a 60-75 watt CF if you can find it. Otherwise, I would just get a bigger terrarium to fit your light! ;)

  • 22 years ago

    Hi and thanks for answering! :-) I think I made a mistake about the wattage. I must have been considering a 65 watt CF. Because of limited budget, I ended up buying one of those shop lights with a Flourex 65 watt CF lamp. I think in real life, it puts out about 4000 lumens from what I've heard. I took the plastic lense off so that it would run cooler. I've already decided I'll need a much bigger terrarium. This one will be fun for a first terarrium though.
    Thanks again,
    Burt

  • 22 years ago

    You are right tubby2, those fluorex run VERY hot. I was using one for side lighting and it cracked the glass. I'd try it out setup the way you want it before you put in the plants or you may end up with a wilted terrarium, and those are no fun.

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