# Lighting for 20 gallon high tank



## Tomoko Schum (Jan 14, 2012)

Hi,

I would like to set up a 20 gallon high tank for my first PDF. I am still at the planning stage and don't have any frog yet.

I plan to use a 20G high since I already have a good stand/place for it. 

Will you please recommend a good lighting for this size vivarium so that I can grow some plants without cooking inhabitants during the summer months? Although I have central air conditioning during the summer months, the setting is at 78 when no one is at home. 

I intend to install a small fan on the glass top to create air circulation, but I hate to let the small tank become a sauna for the poor inhabitants.


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## Baltimore Bryan (Sep 6, 2006)

I definitely wouldn't recommend anything strong if your house temps get up to 78 since the vivs are typically at least a few degrees higher. You don't need any special lights, so I would go with a simple strip light (you can pick them up at hardware stores for an inexpensive price- nothing too powerful T8 should be fine).
Can you describe your hood a bit more? Will the light be mounted inside the hood or above? Will you have a glass lid with the hood on top, and if so do you plan on leaving some ventilation strips both in the lid and the hood itself? My concern is that with the house already being potentially very warm in the summer, and enclosed tank with trapped air and lights can cook the frogs easily.
Bryan


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## Tomoko Schum (Jan 14, 2012)

Thank you for the advice, Bryan!



Baltimore Bryan said:


> Can you describe your hood a bit more? Will the light be mounted inside the hood or above? Will you have a glass lid with the hood on top, and if so do you plan on leaving some ventilation strips both in the lid and the hood itself? My concern is that with the house already being potentially very warm in the summer, and enclosed tank with trapped air and lights can cook the frogs easily.
> Bryan


I have not purchased any light fixture yet. I have a 20 gallon high tank and a nice driftwood piece at the moment. I am starting up my first vivarium.

I intend to place a glass lid on the vivarium and install a small PC fan to circulate the air inside the vivarium. Do you recommend to bring in some fresh air from the outside of the vivarium?

Can a single strip of t8 grow light loving plants such as a bromeliad?


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## Frogart (Dec 24, 2011)

Tomoko Schum said:


> Hi,
> 
> I would like to set up a 20 gallon high tank for my first PDF. I am still at the planning stage and don't have any frog yet.
> 
> ...


Another option would be wait till you get home and start cooling the house down before cutting the lights on and run them later in the night. 
How do you get away with the warmer house temps with your SW and FW tanks?


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## Tomoko Schum (Jan 14, 2012)

Frogart said:


> Another option would be wait till you get home and start cooling the house down before cutting the lights on and run them later in the night.
> How do you get away with the warmer house temps with your SW and FW tanks?


Thanks, Joey. I was thinking about trying that, too. After all, I am not home until the afternoon. 

I have my reef tank light come on late in the afternoon. The room is in the west side of the house and the tank stays cool amazingly until the metal halide lights come on in the late afternoon. The big body of the water does help. Once the lights are on, the temp will go up to 82 to 83 in the summer time even with two fans blowing at the water surface, but my reef have done very well even at that temp. My SPS's grow faster as a matter of fact. My FW planted tanks (high light with no fan) have no problem at all as long as I keep up the fertilization. 

To come to think of it, my 20 long, which I used to use for breeding apistogrammas and banghii cardinals, stayed around 78 degrees during the summer time with one strip of 20W normal output fluorescent lamp (T-12) without a fan. It was in the north east side of the house. I only had shade loving plants with apisto there, though. The set up would not support a light demanding plants.


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## RyanD (Jul 18, 2006)

I did this for my 20H vertical tank. I imagine the same idea would work. It gets about 78-80 at the very top inside the tank, I do not have a fan circulating the air inside the tank currently. (i am planning on adding one.) I went with 13w compact florescents because they are cheap and readily available. Each bulb was like $2, the sockets about $3, plywood was $5, and on-off switch was like $3. I had the fan and ac/dc adapter in my computer junk box. If your concerned about heat, you could have two fans, keep the whole box a bit off the glass and also cut "vents" on the top for the heat to escape. 

And the broms are doing great. I have two 6500 "day light" bulbs and 2 warm whites. One of the broms recently flowered and all have bright colors.


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## jdooley195 (Oct 19, 2009)

When the heat really hits my house I leave the lights off on the tanks and (temperature permitting) might leave on one ceiling fan light (13 watt) for the whole room. As things cool down at night I turn the lights on for a few hours, but my goal is to keep my tanks out of the 80's. But normally....yea, a t8 would be great.


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## itsott (Nov 25, 2010)

Second shelf from the bottom is 2-t8 6500k.


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## Tomoko Schum (Jan 14, 2012)

Thank you, guys.

I just purchased a 24" lighting fixture with LED bulbs. I will let you know how this fixture works out.


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