Bog Standard Desk Light?

[CezzaXV]

Hello everyone!

A quick question really, or at least I'm hoping it'll be quick.

I'm going to be setting up a shrimp tank some time in the next month, and I'm trying to go super low tech. My plan is to have it on my bedroom window, which is facing north and gets maybe half an hour of direct sunlight in the evening at best and that's it. I've been looking into lighting but it's relatively expensive, especially considering I'm going to go with plants that have incredibly low demands and hopefully won't need much of it.

A shop local to me has a bog standard desk light that I could adjust to be over the tank for the grand sum of £3.99, and I'd probably only have it on when I want it for my own enjoyment.

Would this be enough for a shrimp tank or will the world explode if I do this? Will a normal bulb do or do I need something a little more specialist?

 

[Cazgar]

An ordinary light might heat the water too much.
You can get small clip on led lights on eBay for quite reasonable prices

 

[micko]

I done a wee project last year, shame I didn't journal it really but my tank had no light at all and was on a kitchen work top. The work top was 6 inches below the windowsill and got direct light for a max of 2 hours a day, the rest was daylight. This started in the spring as a betta tank but I had extra plants than I needed and put them in that tank until I found somewhere to put them. The plants exploded and I was soon cutting and replanting constantly until the whole tank was full. You can grow plants without a light, as long as there is an amount of sunlight whether its direct or not its still helps. Will be doing it again soon now the days are getting longer and its a bit brighter in the evenings.
Give it a try, what's the worst that can happen?

 

[CezzaXV]

Thanks micko, that's encouraging stuff.

I don't suppose you'd remember what plants you kept in your tank?

 

[Million]

I'm running a Wabi Kusa experiment on my windowsil, with Hydrocotyle leucocephalia, Cryptocoryne wendetii, and Christmas moss all growing happily in the early spring sunshine (in Wales). No heater, no lighting. Nature will find a way!

The world will not explode in typical forum hyperbole fashion