"Cool" Lighting, but suitable for plants?

[coen]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering, what would be the best choice for proper lighting in a newt tank? What gives the least heat and the most lighting so the plants can still grow?

I've read on this forum that standard fluorescent tubes won't give enough of a spectrum so plants can grow...

If one of you guys know anything, do you maybe have a picture of it? I'm dutch, so the name will probably be different here.

 

[juraj]

Hi Coen,

I use standard tubes and CFL (energy savers)with good results.

 

[edward]

Hi Coen,

It depends on the plants you want to grow. You can achieve a good spectrum by using one warm and one cool flourescent bulb in each fixture but unless the bulbs are very close to the tank (or you choose to grow lower light plants) you may need to use more than one or two bulbs.

Ed

 

[coen]

It would be nice if the moss would stay alive and grow, and I also have some ferns and hedera helix, and some other plants that require medium lighting, medium water.

 

[edward]

Hi Coen,

Many mosses require strong lighting to grow well in terraria. I typically do not get good moss growth unless I use compact flourescents on the enclosure (depending on the moss of course).

If you take peat moss and mix it 50/50 by volume with sand and place it shallow trays and keep it moist you should be able to get a moss to grow that you can grow under flourescents. (place the pots/trays under at least 4 flourescent bulbs (I use alternating warm/cool lights). It'll take a couple of months but it will get there.

Ed