Lighting issue

We ordered a Reptisun terrarium hood and we believed it would come with the bulb we needed (the 10.0 uvb high output). It came with a much weaker bulb, so we are in the process of finding the bulb we need. We had to drive an hour + away to the nearest pet stores and none of them have t5 bulbs, only the t8s, which are weaker than what we currently have. We finally found one store that had what we needed (it was the last one in stock) but we drove the long hour home to find that it didn’t work (they believe someone secretly switched out their old bulb with a newer one). They said we could return it and they would have a new one within a few days. What do i do until then? I have a coil 10.0 that came with his setup, but we have never really used it. I also have a tropical uvb setup (5.0 t5 HO). I can plug both in or whichever one would work until we get the new bulb. I know that neither will supply what he needs, but I feel it’s better than nothing.

Hi there,

I take it the bulb that came with the fixture was the 5.0 HO right?

The 5.0 HO has about the same output strength as the 10.0 t8, so you can follow it's recommended distance which would be unobstructed 6-8 inches from the basking site.

If this works for your enclosure, you can continue to use the 5.0 until it's time to replace it. Even if you can't mount it 6-8 inches away, it still will be decently effective at further distances.

-Brandon

claudiusx":2ymy3rad said:

Hi there,

I take it the bulb that came with the fixture was the 5.0 HO right?

The 5.0 HO has about the same output strength as the 10.0 t8, so you can follow it's recommended distance which would be unobstructed 6-8 inches from the basking site.

If this works for your enclosure, you can continue to use the 5.0 until it's time to replace it. Even if you can't mount it 6-8 inches away, it still will be decently effective at further distances.

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Yes. I have placed it over his basking site, I am just unable to place it inside the enclosure, which would take care of it being ineffective. Would having both of my bulbs on help or am I better off having just one on? The other bulb I currently own is a compact 10.0 uvb coil.

So then what is the distance from bulb to basking site now? Even with it on the screen, it can still be very effective depending on its distance.

-Brandon

Roughly 6 inches, as you recommended

That will be fine for the time being, especially if you're going to be ordering the 10.0. Your dragon will be fine until then.

-Brandon