Looking for advice on a new pair of AP T12s

I am looking to upgrade to a pair of PVC enclosures from AP and I wanted to get some feedback on the electronics I should have in the new enclosures. Today I am running a 36x18x18 for an almost adult dragon (barely large enough, I know!) and I have a smaller tank for a juvenile dragon, and he is rapidly growing.

I have settled on two T12s (4x2x2) PVC enclosures from AP. Today I rely on a 150W incandescent bulb for providing a basking spot, of course a UV bulb (reptisun for the adult, and whatever I had from a starter kit for the juvenile). My questions about how best to equip the cage are as follows:

* AP introduced me to the idea of a radiant heat panel, are folks using these for beardies? Do they replace an incandescent bulb for basking? Will a beard bask in the absence of a bright light?
* Is there value to the LED system in the AP? I cant imagine that there is as I would continue to need the UV bulbs
* What size should I consider for the UV bulb fixture given a 4’ cage. Looks like AP has 24” fixtures available for install, but that seems weird to willingly install several smaller fixtures.
* I have heard to avoid under tank heating, but I wanted to validate that I should not consider any heat tape on the enclosure.
* Currently my beardie enclosures contain water dishes. My dragons enjoy drinking out of them, and the adult enjoys wading around in it. I am concerned that with a PVC enclosure I may need to abandon the water bowls as I think humidity will become a problem in an enclosure that doesn’t have a screen top.

I would love to keep it simple, with a nice incandescent fixture installed inside of the enclosure (surprising AP doesn’t offer that) and a good quality UV fixture in the back. But I want to “buy once, and cry once” with this next purchase since it will be $$$$.

Thanks in advance guys!

I agree that keeping it simple is generally a good idea. I wouldn't use a radiant heat panel for a dragon unless you need overnight heat (same with heat tape, under tank heaters, etc). You're even less likely to need this with a PVC enclosure. Stick with a bright white basking bulb and a high quality T5 UVB light and you should be in good shape. I'd use at least a 24'' to cover the basking area. You could go with a longer one but then set it forward or backward a bit in the tank. Just as long as you can create a good gradient and provide areas with little to no UVB it should work. LED might be useful if the enclosure feels dark. You could also install a second T5 that uses a 6500k bulb to provide more ambient lighting.

If they like the water bowls, I'd keep them. The humidity shouldn't pose a problem but if it starts to feel muggy in the tank you can monitor it. If it gets above about 60%(ish) then you can try increasing airflow a bit and see if that helps. Providing them with water that they use (in my opinion) outweighs potential humidity issues.

Well I was going to post but cooper said exactly what I would have, lol.

So +1 to his advice.

-Brandon

Thanks for the advice guys. I thought the UVB coverage was supposed to extend to the entire tank. I did not know that I was supposed to be providing an area of the tank where there is no UVB; in essence an entirely dark side of the tank. Can you confirm?

You want a uv gradient just like a heat gradient. An escape from the uv. This doesnt mean dark, it just means that uvb rays aren't as strong, or are non existant.

Just because the uvb bulb is illuminating something, doesnt mean that something is being exposed to uvb rays. the uvb Ray's the bulb emits diminish in strength the further away from the bulb they get. However the visible light the bulb produces will continue if that makes sense.

So, to put it simply, think of uvb rays as 1 wave, and visible light as another. The bulb will output both rays, but the visible light rays are able to travel much further than the uvb rays.

If your cool side is too dark, you can add additional lighting such as leds or another low wattage bulb.

Hopefully that makes sense. You can have light and low to no uvb.

-Brandon