lighting over new terrarium

[crittermom]

Hi fellow orchid addicts! I am currently constructing a new terrarium out of a 44 g corner pentagon aquarium that I got off craiglist. Doing the whole deal with wood mounted in the greatsfuff background, false bottom, water feature. I posted the start of it on vivarium forum.com (to see pics: New to the forum, first tank! - Vivarium Forums) My question for the orchid people, is how much light would I need on a tank that is essensially 23x23 and 24 inches tall? I would like to house some mini catts, and other higher light orchids on top, with phals, paphs, and lower minis in the lower and/or shaded areas.I will also have a few bromeliads in there. The bulbs/fixtures I'm looking at are a 96 W compact fluorescent. What I'm wondering is if it would be better to have two of these bulbs, or would one get the job done? Would two be too much light? Should I get the 96W and a smaller one as well? Also, the bulbs come in 6500K and 5000K. Which do you think is better (I've searched the forums for answers, and can't seem to find it) They will be mounted a couple of inches above the glass/screen top in the canopy I will be building. Any advice is really appreciated!

[Tindomul]

I would say nothing less than 2 compact flourescent 65 watt bulbs with temp 6700K. I am able to get some good growth on bulbos and phals in my vivariums with these lighting conditions, and when I had a mini catt it bloomed for me. My phals bloom regularly too. The bulbo will grow but it has not bloomed.

[Becca]

Do you know what the lumens per bulbs are?

[crittermom]

I couldn't find how many lumens the bulb puts out, but this is the bulb: 96W 6,700K -Quad Bulb16 3/4" -Square Pin Base - 20013

Would two of these be too much?

[Tindomul]

Hi,

mine are 65 watt and they are pretty good. 95 watt I can imagine will be really hot and possibly cause some burn depending on how much humidity you have and moisture, or on the type of orchid you plant. Or on the size of the tank. I would not recommend it for a small tank. But I am now considering those bulbs for my 40 gallon breeder vertical tank which stands at about 3 feet tall.