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pappydew

I hate bugs. Carnivorous plants get me.
Hey all, it's been a while! I am currently debating switching over my "tropical" dews and the few intermediate Neps I have into a 20 long and leaving my 15 gallon for the pygmies and pings. Right now my current collection is crammed into said 15 gallon, and everything is doing great but I want to expand the collection. I am wondering what I should do in terms of lighting if I do end up switching some of them over (which will happen if I end up placing an order for more plants).

Since the 20 long used to be a planted aquarium I currently have a twin tube T8 fixture with a total of 34 watts. Unsure about which bulbs I have now but I could check.

How much more would I need? I am wondering if it would be worth it to go with a T5 or just add another thing of T8s. I'm open to suggestions!

I was thinking of having the "base" be egg crate raised up somehow and then put the dews in a plastic tray and just set the neps on the crate .

Here's what would be in the 20g most likely...

-D. adelae
-D. admirabilis
-D. aliciae
-D. binata ‘t form’
-D. capensis ‘typical’
-D. capensis ‘alba’
-D. capensis ‘red’
-D. capillaris ‘long arm’
-D. madagascarensis
-D. nidiformis
-D. spatulata ‘pink flower’
-D. venusta

-N. maxima
-N. x Miranda
-N. ventricosa 'red'


Thanks for any suggestions ahead of time!!!
 
you could try the twin tubes and see how they react, your not trying to light a very big foot print.......

honestly unless there is a specific reason for it i just prefer lighting a 4 foot swath at a time, in the end it makes the most sense dollar wise.....only time i tend to make an exception is display tanks.....other than those i buy shelves as close to 4 foot as possible and light a whole shelf, gonna need the room eventually....

will also add all those wont fit in a 20 gal long, least not for very long.....
 
are you saying the Neps wont fit or the dews as well? All the dews will be potted so wouldnt a 30"x12" footprint be enough?

As of now I just have the ventricosa and Miranda, and probably will hold off on getting the maxima anyways.
 
when they are happy capensis get good sized and actually they dont need much of any humidity so if yah want you can grow them as house plants....same with binata, i grow both on my windowsill at the office and i promice you my humidity is much lower than what you have in the twin cities.....nidiformis, spatulata and madigascariensis are much the same......miranda gets quite large, ventricosa and maxima depend on the clone....

actually other than maybe adelae your list really doesnt need high humidity.......infact some of the dews may suffer from it if there isnt enough air movement......my best looking capensis have often been in large south windows and real low humidity, same with binata.....

a 20 long isnt as big as yah think once you start growing plants in pots.....i know, its what i use to grow out the plants that are fresh out of tissue culture....
 
I was just wondering if something like this would be enough on its own...
 
might want to check Home Depot, if you can wire a cord the T5 fixtures themselves can be found for significantly less with bulbs in the lighting section.....think i paid $10 less for a 36in and just took a cord off one of the T8 fixtures i had with a burned out ballast....
 
when they are happy capensis get good sized and actually they dont need much of any humidity so if yah want you can grow them as house plants....same with binata, i grow both on my windowsill at the office and i promice you my humidity is much lower than what you have in the twin cities.....nidiformis, spatulata and madigascariensis are much the same......miranda gets quite large, ventricosa and maxima depend on the clone....

actually other than maybe adelae your list really doesnt need high humidity.......infact some of the dews may suffer from it if there isnt enough air movement......my best looking capensis have often been in large south windows and real low humidity, same with binata.....

a 20 long isnt as big as yah think once you start growing plants in pots.....i know, its what i use to grow out the plants that are fresh out of tissue culture....

I understand what you are saying but problem is I don't have much in terms of window space and what I do have doesn't get much sun light (east facing).

Humidity usually hovers around 50% in my tanks which I believe is fine for most dews (correct me if I am wrong). The only issues I have had was late last summer temps in the tanks reached almost 90F and I think this year I am going to try installing some computer fans to help with circulation. The plants toughed it out but I was caught by surprise last year as I forgot my room at school didnt have AC, lol. I just hope that this year the pygmies dont decide to go dormant...

I've had the adelae, capensis, and spatulata of the ones you mentioned for about a year now. Actually, at this point I have multiple of all in their respective pots...I need to do some pruning soon!

I grew the Miranda as a houseplant last year, seemed fine with the ambient temps/humidity so that one I may just leave out of the tank completely.

Heck, I have an extra 10 gallon collecting dust if I do need some extra space :D

---------- Post added at 11:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 PM ----------

might want to check Home Depot, if you can wire a cord the T5 fixtures themselves can be found for significantly less with bulbs in the lighting section.....think i paid $10 less for a 36in and just took a cord off one of the T8 fixtures i had with a burned out ballast....

Doing anything DIY when it comes to lighting scares me, even something as simple as that sounds...lol
 
i grow only capensis, binata and a few pings on my window sill at work, everything else i grow under lights in my basement......i use these at 48 inches long:
http://www.amazon.com/Whitmor-6060-...HD1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1309321628&sr=8-1

real easy to hang lights from, dont have to worry bout collapsing and you can by wheels for them to make them easy to shuffle around.......ive found them to be the best bang for the buck and space efficient when growing plants indoors without a greenhouse.....

---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:31 PM ----------

Doing anything DIY when it comes to lighting scares me, even something as simple as that sounds...lol

all it is is wire nutting the two wires of the cord to the two wires to the ballast and the ground wire.......as far as electrical stuff it is the most basic baby step project there is.....and i hate messing with electricity.....
 
I've always wondered, how exactly does one hang lights on grow racks?

My only issue with using one would be temps because during the winter the house is usually kept around 65F at the very warmest. The tanks are able to keep the heat from the lights more contained and temps are anywhere from 70-80F instead...
 
  • #10
most fixtures come with chains making them real easy to hang to wire racks.....

my basement hits 55 on some real cold nights......most the time day time its 80* nights are around 60-65* which actually keeps a wide range of plants very happy......
 
  • #11
Ah, that makes sense.

Very rarely does the ambient temp in my room get above 70F in the winter. I would think that would be a problem for some of the plants.

I may hit up home depot and see what they have for lighting just to get some more options. I'm still really reluctant to do any wiring or whatever it may take on my own...
 
  • #12
couple members here can walk yah through it im sure......check your options and decide if its worth it to yah to learn to save a lil cash......

lot easier to heat a single tank or such to accomidate a few than cool down a whole room for the majority.......with CP's and orchids and such i much rather have to work around a cool room than a warm one....easier and cheaper to heat than to cool.....heating is simple, cooling can get complicated......
 
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