Hi everyone,
So after months of testing and research, we have finally come to a conclusion on the sunblaster reflector issue. This was accomplished in large part by Dr. Frances and the members of her facebook page, along with myself and a few others on beardeddragon.org.
A few months ago, I had noticed that one of my sunblaster reflectors wasn't actually reflecting (increasing) UV output like it should. With some more tests, I realized that the reflector was essentially doing nothing. I got the same results as I did without a reflector installed. I reached out to Dr. Frances Baines and we started working on the issue right away. After a few months we hit a stalemate until I was able to get into contact with Sunblaster. Our contact at sunblaster mentioned a visual difference we could look for, and that led to some great progress. Soon after, some members in Frances group had discovered what the issue was.
Simply put, the mylar reflective strip was being slid into new sunblaster fixtures backwards. Here is a good image to help explain:
(photo credits: Francis Skibicki)
As you can see, the reflector strip needs to be placed into the reflector housing the right way, otherwise the reflective side isn't showing, and no UV will be reflected back down to your reptiles.
So, how do you tell if your reflector strip is installed backwards? Well Francis Skibicki has created a nice poster to help you determine
Here is a larger image of the visual difference between the reflector strips being rightside up or not.
Dr Frances has put together a much more in depth PDF that is available to be downloaded and viewed here:An Issue with Sunblaster T5-HO Reflectors
So, I encourage everyone to look at their reflectors and verify that their mylar reflective strips are placed in the housing the right way. If not, try to be careful when removing and replacing the strip. There has been a report by Mr.Spectrum of the mylar strip breaking during this process.
Please ask any questions or post here for help identifying your reflector. And it wouldn't hurt to let us know if you checked yours and found it to be the right or wrong way
Previous versions of this thread:
Do You Use a Sunblaster T5 Fixture?
UPDATE - SUNBLASTER T5 REFLECTORS - READ
-Brandon
So after months of testing and research, we have finally come to a conclusion on the sunblaster reflector issue. This was accomplished in large part by Dr. Frances and the members of her facebook page, along with myself and a few others on beardeddragon.org.
A few months ago, I had noticed that one of my sunblaster reflectors wasn't actually reflecting (increasing) UV output like it should. With some more tests, I realized that the reflector was essentially doing nothing. I got the same results as I did without a reflector installed. I reached out to Dr. Frances Baines and we started working on the issue right away. After a few months we hit a stalemate until I was able to get into contact with Sunblaster. Our contact at sunblaster mentioned a visual difference we could look for, and that led to some great progress. Soon after, some members in Frances group had discovered what the issue was.
Simply put, the mylar reflective strip was being slid into new sunblaster fixtures backwards. Here is a good image to help explain:
(photo credits: Francis Skibicki)
As you can see, the reflector strip needs to be placed into the reflector housing the right way, otherwise the reflective side isn't showing, and no UV will be reflected back down to your reptiles.
So, how do you tell if your reflector strip is installed backwards? Well Francis Skibicki has created a nice poster to help you determine
Here is a larger image of the visual difference between the reflector strips being rightside up or not.
Dr Frances has put together a much more in depth PDF that is available to be downloaded and viewed here:An Issue with Sunblaster T5-HO Reflectors
So, I encourage everyone to look at their reflectors and verify that their mylar reflective strips are placed in the housing the right way. If not, try to be careful when removing and replacing the strip. There has been a report by Mr.Spectrum of the mylar strip breaking during this process.
Please ask any questions or post here for help identifying your reflector. And it wouldn't hurt to let us know if you checked yours and found it to be the right or wrong way
Previous versions of this thread:
Do You Use a Sunblaster T5 Fixture?
UPDATE - SUNBLASTER T5 REFLECTORS - READ
-Brandon