Confused with lighting when converting to tall tank!?

[Mork and Mindy]

Hi guys,

I really love looking at all your posts, showing how to convert a long tank into a tall tank. I am really excited to try this but Im confused....

How do you manage the lighting? I have noticed on some pics that the light is resting on the glass at the top of the tank. Wont this hurt the frogs or am I just being really thick here?

I currently have mesh at the top of my tank and my Grays think nothing of jumping up at it and seeing if they can hang on. Im just worried that if the light is heating the glass could my frogs get burnt? Can they even hang on upside down?

I love my tank the way it is now but I do think that Mork and Mindy (the Grays) will have a much better time in a taller tank, along with their tankmate Arnie Anole (he did have a mate but he literally DID hump her to death! poor lass )

Here is a pic of what the tank looks like now


I do have to have a basking light for Archie so Im now thinking that a vertical tank with glass top might not be an option (as thinking about it the actual light for the tank wont be a hot one will it.....arrrrrgh im so confused!)

Please, has someone got some advice? Maybe I could just do a background build with it the way it is, that way the frogs will have a lot more places to hide and explore, add vines and maybe a little stream leading down to a pond area?

Also, (sorry lol) the top of this tank has no lip, the lid just sits on top. So I made a make-shift mesh from strong wire covered in small mesh. This is sandwiched between the glass of the tank and the lid. The lid houses the fluorescent lighting which is the correct one, but it just seems really bright in there. Has anyone got any tips and step by step instructions (cos Im a girl ) on how to maybe build a lid to fit the tank that will stay on, probably not all mesh either has humidity would be lost, and how to light it? Im sooooooo confused lol

[deranged chipmunk]

ok, so which would you like advice on? converting to a vertical tank? or redesigning it in it's current state? LOL keep in mind that the light you have for the tank now, if it stetches across the entire tank, will be too wide for a vertical conversion. florescent lighting doesn't give off as much heat as incandescent or metal halide lighting, so the glass will not get too hot for the frogs.

not sure i understand your last question about creating a lid. do you mean after conversion? or the way it is currently?

[Mork and Mindy]

ok, so which would you like advice on? converting to a vertical tank? or redesigning it in it's current state? LOL keep in mind that the light you have for the tank now, if it stetches across the entire tank, will be too wide for a vertical conversion. florescent lighting doesn't give off as much heat as incandescent or metal halide lighting, so the glass will not get too hot for the frogs.

not sure i understand your last question about creating a lid. do you mean after conversion? or the way it is currently?

Hi Bill,

Sorry. When I get confused I tend to confuse others too!

Although I would love a vertical tank it seems a lot of hard work. So now Im just thinking maybe just improve it the way it is by making a background cos they look really cool.

I was asking about making a more secure lid for the way it is now. The mesh I have sandwiched in between lets the blasted crickets out as where the thermometer and humidity sensor goes in it lifts the mesh. Im forever finding a cricket here or there on my living room floor lol

I do like the idea of keeping the fluorescent light so the lid has to stay. Just wondering how to make it more secure so the crickets dont get out. The frogs dont get out, Id like to point out. Lets see if I can explain how this is set up....

The plastic lid sits on top of the glass, overlapping the sides and down the outsides about an inch. I have a mesh wedged into the lid where it sits on top the glass so when I lift the lid the mesh comes off too. I need to increase the humidity in there as although the plastic lid is there, I think there is too much mesh letting it out. Ideally I would need perspex either side but if I plonk it on top of the mesh it would be too heavy to stay wedged in the lid frame. (Im not very good at explaining things jeez! lol) I might just have to figure this out on my own. Don't like giving people headaches! hehe

[deranged chipmunk]

take some pics and post them. remember, pictures are worth a thousand words!!LOL it doesn't sound too complex, but would be easier to give you proper advice if i can see it and visualize it.