Lighting Help for Newbies (:

Beardielovingfamily · Aug 3, 2016

Hello everyone. This is my first post. Looking for a little help. I cannot seem to get my basking area above 90° according to my thermometer. My beardies seem fine. They're active & eat well but I want the upmost for them and their health. Their new new setup is almost a week old now. I have the log that they like to bask on about 6-9 inches from the light. Think they will be okay and this is warm enough?

CooperDragon · Aug 3, 2016

They will need higher temperatures. What are you using for a thermometer? Accurate readings are crucial. I also suggest having two enclosures if you have two dragons. They are pretty solitary and may start competing for resources such as basking space and food which can cause harm.

matothett · Sep 12, 2016

i am in the process of setting up all my lighting. I am mounting the uvb 10.0 inside the viv. i also want to mount the basking lamp inside but i cant find a small housing for the bulb. I dont really want to strip wires to attach to extension cord. what else are you guys doing for this?

girlunderground · Oct 28, 2016

Hey all - new to the forum. My beardie, Smaug, is 1 and a half years old. The weather is changing, so I think he might be in brumation, but I'm not sure. Below is an image of his enclosure. I have a mercury vapor bulb (160 watts) on the left for heat and light and a UV florescent mounted inside on the right. His basking spot is only between 80-90 degrees depending up on the temperature in my apartment. How can I get his basking spot hotter? Has anyone had similar issues with the mercury vapor bulb?!!?

Kimmer76 · Oct 30, 2016

Yes, thank you for the visual!! It definitely gave me some ideas. I as well have a 40 gallon tank, but I doubt it's a breeder tank. Mine is 36" long, what size UVB and light fixture do you recommend for my tank?

Kimmer76

dragaoportugues · Feb 22, 2017

Hi guys i´m new on the forum :blob5:

and by far this is the best website that i have encountered

. Soo.. i have been reading all this caresheets about lights but i still have a question about it that is bother me :? .

Can i have 3 lights inside of my tank, 1- UV light, 2- CHE and 3- Basking spot?
Can the light of basking spot stay all night on? is the light good enought to maintain the temperature?

CooperDragon · Feb 22, 2017

Yeah you can use 3 lights. I have a basking spot, a heat projector (similar to CHE) and a UVB light in my tank. You want the UVB and basking lights to go off overnight but you can maintain the temperature using the CHE as needed. Keeping it on a dimmer or dimming thermostat is helpful. You don't want the overnight temps to drop below about 65 in the tank but you don't want it too warm either. I have mine programmed to keep the tank between about 70-73 overnight. It's important to have accurate readings so I suggest using a digital thermometer with a probe for the basking surface and one for the cool side or an IR temp gun (or both).

dragaoportugues · Feb 22, 2017

Ok thanks!

Can i put the basking light connected to thermostat to regulate the temperature, and then the thermostat connected to a timer and the UV light connected to the same timer? this way when the "day" is over both UV and the basking light goes off. Then i connect the CHE to a dimmer and to a timer, to make the "night"?

What do you think? I'm sorry to be so borring but this animal is putting my head upside down :lol: :banghead:

CooperDragon · Feb 22, 2017

Yep, using a timer is a great way to control the lighting. A dimming thermostat can help you control the temperature/output from the basking light and the CHE. I've found that a pulse setting works well with a CHE while a dimming setting works well with a basking light. If you can swing it, I suggest getting a Herpstat2 which you can program to keep the lights within a specific range while the UVB tube can be set on a simple on/off outlet timer.

dragaoportugues · Feb 22, 2017

Thank you in a lifetime, helped me a lot awnsering that questions

Houseforbeardie · Mar 1, 2017

Hi everyone, this is my first post here as I try and setup for a beardie I intend to get in the next few days.

I'm a little concerned because reading around it seems I may have made a mistake in uvb bulb. I bought a zilla slimline t8 fixture and bulb that is "desert 50" for a 40 gallon tank. Reading around it seems like that might not be strong enough? I'm even more concerned because I'm having trouble figuring out how to mount it in tank and the combination of weak bulb and thru a mesh screen is concerning. Will this provide enough uvb? Any suggestions for what I can do?

Edit: I also have a 20 watt coil uvb light. Could these 2 over a basking spot work through a screen?

CooperDragon · Mar 2, 2017

I would mount it inside if you can. You might be able to suspend it from the top using wire or you could mount it on the back wall facing down using two command hooks. The small ones fit in the holes on the side of the fixture. It is rated to hold but can seem a bit wobbly so adding some industrial velcro might help out. It should sit about 6'' above the basking site for best results. You want to be sure to remove the clear plastic that is covering the bulb on that fixture as that will intercept all of the UVB. A T5 would be a better fit in that tank because you could set it on top and have it about 10-12'' above the basking area.

Houseforbeardie · Mar 3, 2017

Industrial Velcro is a great idea, thank you! I'm still having trouble with the temperature side of things (I bought a ceramic heater but it doesn't seem to be hearing the tank Enough) but Im heading to the store later to try and remedy this. Thanks!

CooperDragon · Mar 3, 2017

A CHE is a good supplement and overnight heat source but you want a bright white light to produce a bright basking area during the day. ZooMed Repti Basking Spot lamp is a good one. You can use a PAR38 halogen flood light as well. You may need to try some different wattages to get it just right for your setup. The halogens can be dimmed but the ZooMed bulbs create a humming sound when dimmed and I recommend using height changes to adjust the temps with those.

navide21 · Mar 21, 2017

Hiii is the 6500 fluorescent lamp have uvb ?

Lighting Help for Newbies (:

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