Getting my Temperature and Humidity just right

[Acidbrn835]

I recently had to invest in another bulb for my tank because my plants didn't seem very healthy. Well now with 2 bulbs, Its very hard to keep the tank under 88 F . Even with just one bulb on, it is about 86 degrees. Along with that when I try and balance my humidity and get it to the proper level, my temp goes up even more. Does anyone have any advice on how I can get my temp down, bring my humidity up, and still have proper lighting for the plants ?

[stitches]

We need more details.

What kind of lights?

How are they placed over the tank?
In a hood?
Is there a fan?
Is there a vent?
How far from the glass/acrylic are they?

Do you have the ballast connected remotely or is it sitting in with the lights?

How many watts?

Is there ventilation for the tank?

If there is where is it located?

A picture is worth a 1000 words. 8)

What kind of plants were not doing well? It could have been other factors besides the lights.

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OK a few things I'm am seeing. First off what kind of top do you have on the tank? I see you have a UV bulb. Almost no UV will pass through glass or regular acrylic. You need to have OP4 acrylic (think tanning beds) to pass anything through. Also the UV will not affect plant growth. If i were you i would add another bulb.

As far as the temperature goes it looks like you have a regular fish tank hood over the tank ? It looks like you may need to raise this an inch or two to reduce the heat. You could build a hood with good ventilation/fan. Or merely prop the ends up with something, maybe a small piece of wood on either side.

Moss tends to need higher light. Of course this is dependent on the type of moss. Which you may want to look into. Moss that you find around your home is temperate moss, this moss needs a dormancy period. You will want to look into getting a tropical moss or maybe some java moss depending on how wet your tank is.

Propping the lights up and getting another 5000k-6700k light will do wonders.

Let me know if i answered all your questions.

[Acidbrn835]

first off, it is a screened top so it is ventilated and i have control over how much of the screen I want to cover or not. Second, I am using a normal terrarium or viv fixture that I got. The one that looks weird is the blue one in the back, which is an old blacklight fixture but I am using it for the second bulb fixture temporarily right now. I already have 2 bulbs, your suggesting I get a 3rd ?

[stitches]

No 2 bulbs should be fine. It looked like you have one regular and one UV. If its over the screen that's good so its actually getting into the tank.

To lower the temps, I would raise the lights a few inches up off the glass / screen top at little bit at a time until you get the temps in an acceptable range. The air space / gap between the lights and the viv top are what you want. A fan blowing between the lights and the viv top will help quite a bit too.

To be honest with you, the easiest way to heat/cool a Vivarium is to have the room its in be in already in the temp range you want. Not sure if its a possibility or your location but I run the AC/Heat almost year round here in Chicago. I tend to keep my home at 70-72F degrees year round. A little cooler at night in the winter. I will also tell you its not cheap, some of my gas/electric bills are a tad excessive. I keep waiting for the cops to beat down my door trying to find some illicit growing facility only to find cute little frogs.

[Philsuma]

....Good thread....