Hello,
Yes, quite a few of us here use Mercury vapor bulbs. Which brand are you considering, or have
you started looking yet?
What sized tank do you have currently?
Depending on the lamp, some are stronger than others so there are a couple such as the Powersun or the Solar Glo that we recommend using alongside of a tube UVB also for maximum UVB.
The Megaray is strong but doesn't have a real wide reach & is recommended to be used along with
a tube UVB, too. I use the Arcadia MVB which is decent strength but I still couple it along with the
Arcadia D3 14% T5 tube bulb.
You can get by with using a T8 tube UVB along with the MVB light. The reason is that most of the
time, the beams are relatively narrow & don't cover a lot of the tank. Using a tube bulb ensures
he/she gets adequate UVB when not directly under the basking/UVB/heat bulb. The tube only
needs to take up 1/2 to 2/3rds of the length of the tank, leaving a bit of space on the other end
of the tank for them to escape heat & UVB.
Tracie