Help with lighting?

[2ofEverything]

Firstly, I would like to introduce myself since this is my first post. I'm in high school in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) and I've just taken up this frog hobby . I have a custom 40 gallon long tank that was purchased from a guy near me who had it custom built and it was used for saltwater prior to this build. I washed it out thoroughly and created a false bottom with egg crate and weed block and recently put in some soil as the first level of substrate. I plan on adding a layer of coco fibre on top. Pics coming soon BTW. Anyways, I plan on housing either a trio or a quartet of Dendrobates Tinctorius and a variety of live plants and mosses. There will also be a water section at one end of the tank.

Anyways, for the lighting I bought a cheap 32(w) 4ft fixture with t8 daylight bulbs because I read that many people have had great success with this type of lighting. I plan on gathering an assortment of plants similar to the ones on the JoshsFrogs website 55 Gallon Tropical Vivarium Plant Kit | Josh's Frogs and have been reading that many people only recommend growing tropical plants under t5HO's. Which sucks. Has anyone had success growing tropical plants under t8's? Another thing that I'm wondering is how will I mount the lights. I planned on putting a sheet of plexi glass at the top to keep the humidity in but don't know if I'll be able to mount the lights above it without it melting or without the plants getting enough light.

Note: Tank dimensions are roughly 48"L x 13"W x 18"H

[Lija]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Im sure other people who know more about lights will reply soon. Ill cover what i do know. Just to wash used fish tank is not enough. Myself i would never use old fish tank for frogs, while not so common M. Marinum can do nasty things to you and your frogs, it is very resistant to everything too.

You can use undiluted bleach for tank, rinse very well and after use 70% alcohol to cover generously every inch of the tank, rinse very well after again. After that You can consider it disinfected and hope m marinum wasn't ever there, because even after these measures there is no guarantee.

[DigitalPunk]

Welcome to the forum!! I'm on my phone right now. I'll do a proper response when I get home. Just getting the thread in my list

[DigitalPunk]

First off T8 will grow plants and ultimately be just fine.

T8 Pros - Available everywhere (esp in the 4ft length like you have), Good efficiency rating, Lots of color temp options, Best bang for your buck when trying to light a whole rack.

T8 Cons - Smaller bulbs and fixtures can get pricey, The bulbs and ballasts will produce mild/moderate heat (heat hurts humidity and will warp acrylic)


So with that in mind the T8 also are roughly 75 lumens per watt where as a T5Ho bulb is roughly 100 lumens per watt. Meaning brighter light using less power, less power equals less heat generation.

For a tank your size. It is recommended you use 3 36" T8 bulbs to properly light the tank from front to back and penetrate to the substrate.

OR ou could move away from Traditional bulbs of fluorescent lights and look at LED. Here is a link for a 36" (which is the length of most 40G tanks) on Amazon. Very cheap and has everything you need for a well lit vivarium and healthy plants

Amazon.com : BeamsWork 36"-40" Single Bright Power LED Aquarium Light Fixture 600 : Pet Supplies

The pros to LEDs are longer lasting bulbs. Next to no power consumption. Very little heat production. Deeper light penetration in the tank. roughly 105 lumens per watt


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Ok now onto your tank top. Unless your 40 gallon tank has a brace running the width of your tank down the middle or has 2 supports an Acrylic top will end up being wildly frustrating. Trust me I fought and fought to use some cheaper method to make a lid for my 40B tank and after 4 failed attempts at a durable long last top I ended up buying the fish tank top I was avoiding all along. The acrylic will sag in the middle. Maybe not at first but with the heat and humidity in the tank over time it will begin to Bow. You can combat this by regularly rotating the tank top, but who wants to volunteer for a imperfect lid when better options exist.

This is the Lid I ended up getting and it was absolutely perfect! Of course this is the size I needed for mine. I am guessing yours is roughly 36" x 18"

Amazon.com : Perfecto Manufacturing APF34305 Glass Canopy Aquarium, 36 by 18-Inch : Pet Supplies

Hope any of this is at least some what helpful

Paul

[Mentat]

Hello and welcome to FF! When it comes to vivarium tops, a thin glass works best. Cheap source for those are the large framed photos/artwork at big stores. Get one bigger than you need and either cut it or have it cut to proper size.

Try to get the light tubes that will max out at 6,500 to 6,700 color temperature. Don't lay lights on glass top; just figure a way to hang them 4-6 in. above it. Good luck !

[2ofEverything]

Thank you for your help everyone. Lija, thank you for informing me about M. Marinum as I was unaware and have had not seen any information about it when searching. The fish tank has not been used in 2 years by fish or by other animals in fact and has been washed with a diluted bleach solution twice, 2 years ago after purchase and a few days ago. It has been sitting in my garage empty and I'm hoping that there is no sign of M. Marinum left.

Paul, the 40 gallon I have is the same footprint as a 55 gallon meaning it is 48" in length, however, that also means it is only 13" in width. This to my understanding meant 2 48" t8's running the length would be enough to light it. I was also not too familiar with plexi glass and didn't know it would bow even with a support in the middle of the aquarium. I just found someone locally giving a piece of plate glass exactly the length I need for free, how lucky am I?

Carlos, the current light tubes I have purchased max out at 6,500 so it seems that I have finally done something right haha. Thank you for your information on the glass and as I said to Paul I have just found a nice sheet the right size for free in my area! I will be contacting the person later today to acquire the glass.

[DigitalPunk]

I would think 2 t8's would be plenty for a 13" wide tank. You will know once you have it all setup if you think it looks dark or not.