2.5 gallon powerless desktop

[dskidmore]

No, they're just hyper about security, paranoid about industrial spying. My last job at this company all of my work was considered classified. (Who cares what colors of paper the machine knows about?)

 

[Atl300zx]

i cant even had a camera phone at my company

 

[dskidmore]

That's one of the things not technically allowed, but no-one gets caught at.

 

[Atl300zx]

The difference is at my job, if you break the rules, you would get arrested

 

[dskidmore]

Ah yes, we certianly are in diffrent industries then!

My sister has jobs like that sometimes...

 

[dskidmore]

Good news:
a) the camera rules have changed. I guess they got tired of fighting the cell phone camera folks. Now I can bring in a camera, but need permission to take a picture.

b) extra desk lights are allowed. Any suggestions as to what I should pick up? It needs to light my 2.5 gallon and my .25 gallon beside it.

 

[Purrbox]

What sort of lighting levels are you looking at for the two aquariums? I really like my dragonfly light over my 0.5 gallon aquarium.

Some possibilities include:
http://catfishlighting.com/body_pclights.htm
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_76&products_id=1230
http://www.redseafish.com/lighting.asp

 

[dskidmore]

http://www.redseafish.com/lighting.asp

Is that a clamp-on light? I think I need a freestanding light. Something that looks like a desk lamp, that I could swivel around for that actual purpose when needed.

The current plants are comfortable in moderate light. I'm willing to look at higher, but not very high light, as I don't want to deal with CO2 or fertilizing more than my once a week root tabs.

 

[Purrbox]

In that case I'd just go to a Menards, Lowes, or the like and look at their desk lamps. Find on that you like which has compact fluorescent lighting. I'd recommend somewhere around 13-18 watts for your 2.5 gallons with the lighting goals you stated.

 

[travis simonson]

They're a bit pricey but the ADA Solar Mini lights look just like desklamps but have considerably more power and are designed for small tanks.

 

[dskidmore]

Well, I picked up a fairly generic 13w desk lamp. Officially it's an OTT-Lite model K83G56. (Can't seem to find it on their website though.)

The base is a bit large, but I suppose it needs the counterbalance. Because of the large base, the light is slightly off center from the tank. Otherwise it's about perfect for that tank. Major downside is that it's not long enough to also light the smaller tank.

I'm a bit confused about the camera rules now. Orientation seemed to indicate a softer rule than I remember, but the gate I come in still has a sign specificaly forbiding cameras.

The tank is all messy from the move. Sand has shifted, mulm has been stired up. Almost all the plants stayed rooted though. I'm wondering if I should rip everything out and re-scape or try to work with what's here.

 

[dskidmore]

About temperature, you might want to consider what happens after hours.

Good point. Perhaps I should pick up a min-max thermometer.

Being in a new office, I'm revisiting some of these old questions. Any idea where I could pick up a waterproof min/max thermometer, or do I need to go for one of the fancier digital ones?

 

[dskidmore]

Starting to see the results of the brighter light. New stalks of Marsilea are putting out quadrifoil leaves. (Now I'll be able to tell the Marsilea Quadrifolia from the other varieties...)