Which lighting would be best?

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Slothgirl

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Hello all! I have been lurking on the forums for quite awhile and have learned so much over the past few months. I inherited an adult male beardie with his 40 gal enclosure from a friend that moved out of state. It has definitely been a learning experience.

His MVB, which currently hangs 12 inches above his basking spot (with screen mesh tank topper in between). It is time to replace it and I think I have decided to move to a reptisun or Arcadia tube.

I have spent the past 2 days reading everything that I could. I have read and reread Jess's lighting for newbies post, along with the Lizard Madness fluorescent lighting guide (https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides) and this: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubes.htm and also this: viewtopic.php?p=1897059

So now I that my brain feels like mush, I'm having a hard time deciding from the following ideas.

Ideally, I would like to hang the light fixture inside the tank so that I don't have to move the light off of the screen top every time I need to get into the tank. I would also like to have a variety of decor in the tank.

Idea #1:
Use reptisun 10.0 T8 in a normal fixture without a reflector and attach this to the back of the tank wall. From what I can tell, I would want his basking spot to be 6-8 inches from the light source. Correct?

Idea #2:
Use this fixture: https://www.reptilebasics.com/t5-light-fixtures/t5-ho-single-bulb-light-strip-24/ With an Arcadia 6% bulb and have his basking spot 7-9 inches below this

Idea #3
Just deal with putting the lamp on top of the mesh and go with the above fixture with an Arcadia 12% or %14. Because of the loss of UVB, could I then put his basking spot in the 10 inch range?

I worry putting one of the stronger bulbs -( the reptisun or Arcadia T5s) directly into the tank since it isn't a very tall tank.

What are your thoughts? Am I overlooking a better solution? I hope this wasn't too confusing and I appreciate any help that you can give!
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Option 1 would work but I'd use a reflector still on the reptisun 10.0. The 6-8 inch recommendation is with a reflector and the bulb being unobstructed :)

This would be the best option for your goal of having multiple decorations in your tank. And not having to deal with it ontop of the screen.

However, if you want, you could also instead get the t5 and place it on top of the screen. This would give you more room in the tank for decorations but you would have to deal with it being on top.

Either of those options would work fine, it's just which youd prefer :)

-Brandon
 

Slothgirl

New member
Original Poster
Thanks, Brandon. I appreciate the help! There seems to be so many ways to configure things that the research had me in overload and I was just 2nd guessing myself.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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Yup there is!

It's nice we have the options now but you are right it can be confusing. There are multiple "right" ways to do things it all depends on your specific situations :)

-Brandon
 

Slothgirl

New member
Original Poster
A few more quick questions (thanks for your patience!!):

The Arcadia 12%'s effective UV range for the basking area is 12-18 inches, correct? If I were to place the fixture on top of the mesh top, and the mesh reduces the UVI by approximately 35%, does that mean that I can/should have the basking spot 35% closer (7.8-11.7 inches)? Looking at chart B seems to suggest this ( https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides )

If I decide to just mount a T8 on the back, Jess's lighting for newbies post suggested picking up a cheap, $9 fixture from Walmart. The only ones my local store has are these: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tough-LED-Slim-Under-Cabinet-Light-24-inch/690891244. This fixture's wattage is too low to run a T8 Reptisun, correct?

Thanks again! :)
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
You are correct in your first question. :)

Your second question, the fixture you linked isnt a t8 fixture. It is just an led strip placed in a rectangular housing that looks like a florescent housing. When looking for a fixture make sure its actually a t8 fixture. I know home depot online has something. And of course Amazon would too.
It doesn't necessarily have to be an under cabinet fixture. Most any t8 fixture will be able to be mounted inside. As long as its not some huge heavy bulky fixture lol.

-Brandon
 
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