getting my set up

Hello, I am just starting to set up my new babys home. I got a 500 liter fishtank, 1500 x 700 x 600 i think , so that should definitely be big enough. Today I got my UVB light, and I was going to get a busking light but there were so many options to choose from, red, blue, white, ceramic and everything from 50 to 200 W . also with or without cage around. what is the best thing to get? Pros and Contras or what should I stay away from?

wow... it's a good size .... standard here for an adult beardie is 1220mm x 610mm x 400mm (MIN height).

Your's being 600mm tall will need a 130W MVB I expect to get the basking temp right (this is about what most here use for 600mm tall enclosures for their beardies).
A cage around the basking light or MVB (if you decide to install rather than a spotty) is to stop the lizard from leaping or climbing into the very hot globe.
MVBs are not dimmable so no thermostat for the MVB, just a timer to turn the MVB on / off.

The CHE if you install one (for backup heating) needs to be in a proper all ceramic high temp E27 light fitting , on a thermostat at least too.
The MVB or basking (spotty .... Philips Par38s clear colourless spottys are commonly used here) needs to be in a ceramic high temp E27 light fitting and on a timer.

Make sure the UV source provides at least 10% UVB and 30% UVA and you allow the beardie to get close enough to the tube to get a UVI about 14. If using only a MVB , it will need to get close so a cage around the MVB is a good idea.
Your best setup is a 130W (maybe a bit more if it's a cold house) MVB + T5 10-12% UVB tube both on the same timer (14-15hr day cycle).

Avoid particulate beddings and sand , best to go with unglued ungrouted wall or floor tiles (with a rocklike rough surface) or paper towelling.

I'm sure others will add more , these are for starters.

How old will the beardie be ?

if little you might partition off the enclosure so it's go access to less area to start off -
-- less chance of loosing live insects in the expanse
-- less chance of overwhelming the little lizard with a huge open scary area
-- easier to keep warm
..... I'd suggest if a hatchling , access to 1/3 of the floor space to start.



Ceramic heat emitters are for if it's cold in the house and you need extra heat.

NO COLOURED LIGHTS - they useless for beardies.

Wow, lots of info, exactly what I need. the size of the tank is only that big as it was my fishtank. so I got that alraedy. I would love to even keep two in there but 6than I read that two males are a big no no, two girls may get on and a pair may or may not work, so properbly now worth the risk putting two in there.

Not sure yet on the age, I will see whats available once i am ready set up. hoping for a nice young one so he or she can grow up here.

the Uvb lamp has 10% uvb.
What does MVB , UVI and CHE mean? sorry rather new here and not familiar with those.

As a ground cover , I would like to use either ceramic tiles or Vinyl, but I have not looked into the vinyl enough yet to see if thats a safe option.

Dont worry about the MVB so much, its Mercury Vapor Bulb, gives UVB and Heat, but you already got your UVB. So a halogen spotlight, just like ones sold in hardware stores would do great in that kind of space. I found the MVB to be a bit picky when trying to manage temperatures and adequate UV levels but thats just me..

CHE stands for Ceramic Heat Emmiter, no light is given off, just radiant heat. You could use these if you find that your home gets too cold at night, just to keep temperatures at a good level. During the day it'll probably be best if you just use lights though as he will welcome the added brightness to his home. With Larger tanks you will also be able to make multiple basking sites at different temps and levels so that is going to work awesome for you and your friend.

UVI is Ultraviolet Index, just a measure of strength of UV... not necesarily UVB though just UV in general.

These are just my thoughts and you're up for a fun time... kinda... haha, but just make sure you take everything in that you are given and sort through the baloney yourself, just gotta do some research.