MVB for 120 gallon tank?

[RowenJade]

Levi is due for a new UVB light. Right now I have a repti-sun 10 that I'm thinking of replacing with an MVB, because Levi doesn't like to spend much time basking. I'm at school most of the day and I can't monitor him as I would like. It is physically impossible to get him to stay on his platform that I worked so hard on, so I'm thinking of making him a couch like Enki's (Yes, a couch), and putting a MVB in there with him.

I know there's been problems with MVB's sometimes, but at the same time I can't get him to have proper UVB with never being on his platform, and I'm planning on taking it back to exchange it if I see a single change for the worst.

So which MVB's does everyone recommend? Could I put a small log in his 120 gallon tank for him to bask on instead of the platform? Would he get enough UVB if he stayed on the floor like he does now? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for reading.

 

[Kidster96]

From what I've been reading all the MVB bulbs are in bad condition. The one trex bulb was being used by a lot of people and so was the Zoo Med PowerSun but they had some 'troubles' in the past with those bulbs so who knows. ^_^

 

[PudgysMom]

I would also avoid MVB. All I can write is this. . . I replaced Pudgy's bulb with an MVB (PowerSun 10.0 160W) early July 1st. That night she had one eye closed shut. Maybe a coincidence, but ever since getting rid of it and replacing it with a ReptiSun 10.0 she's been a bit better. Don't get me wrong. She is sick. But she is pooping more regularly than ever and she is much more alert.

I just wouldn't risk it.

 

[ziggy23]

I switched from megaray (one of the good ones) to a reptisun. I found it incontinent. I still had to have an additional bulb for heat.

 

[PudgysMom]

I switched from megaray (one of the good ones) to a reptisun. I found it incontinent. I still had to have an additional bulb for heat.

How so? It seems so many people I've spoken to, to include vets (one of them is one of the only 5 in the United States who is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Reptile and Amphibian Practice) and they all say it is the best thing on the market. Just wondering what you found icontinent about it. And how often were you replacing it?

And I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but you're stating the obvious. Of course you need an additional bulb for heat considering the ReptiSun is a UVB source only.

 

[ziggy23]

I switched from megaray (one of the good ones) to a reptisun. I found it incontinent. I still had to have an additional bulb for heat.

How so? It seems so many people I've spoken to, to include vets (one of them is one of the only 5 in the United States who is a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Reptile and Amphibian Practice) and they all say it is the best thing on the market. Just wondering what you found icontinent about it. And how often were you replacing it?

And I hope this doesn't come across the wrong way, but you're stating the obvious. Of course you need an additional bulb for heat considering the ReptiSun is a UVB source only.

that word was supposed to be inconvenient. I'm having a bad spelling week, sorry.

No, I had to use an additional heat source for the megaray. The megaray only gave temps of about 90-95 degrees. They're huge, the domes for them are even bigger. Squeezing 2 domes in the same area is a pain and an eyesore. And the tiniest power fluctuation would shut it off for 5 minutes which happened several times a day. No matter how fancy and expensive it is, it's still a light bulb that's fragile as any other.

 

[PudgysMom]

HAHAHA I was wondering.

Thanks for explaining. I am learning so much on this site, soaking it all up like a sponge.

 

[RowenJade]

I heard about MVB's that there are no problems with the 160w bulb. My concern is how much heat that will put off. I don't want to fry my babies! :/

 

[PudgysMom]

I heard about MVB's that there are no problems with the 160w bulb. My concern is how much heat that will put off. I don't want to fry my babies! :/

Not true. Mine was 160W and I will take a picture to show you what it did - THE day I got it. It was the 2nd one I went through and I do not trust them.

14" above the basking spot my temps were @ 95-105.

I'll never risk it again and I will never buy MVB, especially PowerSun again. ReptiSun is the way to go.

 

[RowenJade]

95-105 sounds fine....was it continuously rising?

 

[PudgysMom]

95-105 sounds fine....was it continuously rising?

I wasn't worried about the temps. I was worried about the MVB. I had two bulbs emit some sort of, for lack of a better term, copper-like goo. I'll take a picture of it tonight at home and post.

 

[OldSpikey]

IF you want a larger bulb, go get a Metal halide, and make sure you use reptisun 10.0 on the other side of the tank. I run a Metal Halide set up at 250 watts, and basking temps are around 90-95 degrees PEAK at basking spot. And its much more safe then MVB's

 

[PudgysMom]

Of course, I get home and my camera battery dies. So I took this with my cell phone. Hopefully the gook shows up. If you see that rust colored/copper colored stuff, it came out of the bulb right after I bought it. This was the 2nd bulb within a couple months. The last one completely went out on me, and gave me problems the entire time I had it. To the credit of the petstore, they exchanged it for the new one with no problem. It was just that new one was junk.

I'll try to get a better picture too.