ArcaneVirus
New member
I’m sorry that this post is going to be kind of long and I will try my best to keep each of my questions as organized as possible, but after reading several articles on this site for days on end, I still find myself somewhat confused on what kind of lights I need to buy for my enclosure in particular. The enclosure is a 48” long x 18” wide x 21” high tank with a hinged screen on top. Your expertise would be much appreciated as I’m such a newb at this!
What length UVB bulb should I get? What kind of fixture? Where should I mount?
What I know so far is that I need a UVB bulb preferably with an under-cabinet fixture since I’ve read that placing the bulb in a fixture on top of the screen will block a lot of the UVB waves. Since my tank is 4ft long I wasn’t really sure what length the UVB light should be. I was looking at buying the “Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp”, I’ve read that the T5 is better than the T8, but I wasn’t sure what length to get for my tank. I also wanted to know if there were any particular fixtures that were easy to install and if it were best that I mount the bulb on the side of my tank as I’ve seen with many tanks, or if I should try to mount it under the screen so that the light is facing down onto the basking spot.
What kind of basking light should I get? What wattage?
With the basking spot, I know that I need to emit heat and have a bright light. I recently read that halogen lights are great because they do both which would save me some space as I’m not trying to having a million light fixtures on my screen. However, I know little about which are the best brands to get. Before knowing this, I was going to get a light that emits heat such as the “Exo Terra Intense Basking Spot Lamp”. It comes in a variety of wattages and since I haven’t seen many tanks with the same dimensions as mine I am concerned with getting the right wattage that will emit enough heat for my tank. In addition to this I was going to get a bright light to sit next to the basking light. I was looking at flood lights at the store because they seemed to be the only ones labeled as daylight bulbs as daylight bulbs usually fall into the range of 4000K-5000K, except I started to get really confused because most bulbs were measured in lumens and when reading how lumens related to Kelvin….well let’s just say I’m lost in that department. :?
CHE Bulb wattage?
Another bulb on my list was a CHE, since it gets pretty cold at night where the tank will be kept. I wanted to still provide heat without a light being on. I know that a ceramic socketed fixture is needed for that, thankfully I have plenty of those. I also read it was a good idea to get a thermostat controller with that one since it can produce a lot of heat. I guess my question is, is all of that necessary and what kind of wattage should I get since it produces so much heat. I know I’ll be getting a thermostat controller with it, but I still don’t want to get anything that would be overboard.
General Lighting Questions
Is there anything that I am missing or have overlooked? Or is there anything that would be a better option than what I have already mentioned as something I would like to get? I know UVB bulbs should be changed about every 6 months, are there any other bulbs I need to change out at certain times? I definitely feel like I’ve left out a question I had so hopefully someone suggests something I forgot.
A Few Non-lighting Related Questions
I created a list of things I needed to get to make sure this enclosure had everything it needed because I’m kind of an organization freak when it comes to things like this. I want to make sure I have everything that is needed to give the healthiest and happiest life for my bearded dragon. I read that it’s a good idea to have multiple levels for a bearded dragon to bask on. I planned on using a half log as it provides a hideaway as well as an area to bask on. I was wondering if something like a large piece of driftwood would also do well to provide differing levels? I also read it’s nice to have a timer on the different lights, what lights would most benefit from being on a timer? I was also going to put a large corner bowl full of water to help with shedding, but if I’m going to be giving baths during that time anyway is the bowl of water really necessary? I know most bearded dragons don’t drink from it either way and it could also potentially raise the humidity too much, so I was just wondering if maybe that would be a waste. Also, since the tank is pretty large, I’m kind of lost on what to decorate it with, since there will be plenty of empty space. I’ve seen posts where people make their own false rocks which I think look absolutely gorgeous, but I’m not too sure I have the skill to make that.
Thank you so much to anyone who finds the time to read and respond to this post! I know it’s quite long, but I’m new at all this and would love the wisdom from those who have been doing this for many years. I’ve been creeping around this website for probably a month now and figured I’d try and see what you guys had to say. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated whether it has to do with lighting or anything else! Also don’t worry about going into details because I love to be well informed with all the technicalities. :study:
What length UVB bulb should I get? What kind of fixture? Where should I mount?
What I know so far is that I need a UVB bulb preferably with an under-cabinet fixture since I’ve read that placing the bulb in a fixture on top of the screen will block a lot of the UVB waves. Since my tank is 4ft long I wasn’t really sure what length the UVB light should be. I was looking at buying the “Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp”, I’ve read that the T5 is better than the T8, but I wasn’t sure what length to get for my tank. I also wanted to know if there were any particular fixtures that were easy to install and if it were best that I mount the bulb on the side of my tank as I’ve seen with many tanks, or if I should try to mount it under the screen so that the light is facing down onto the basking spot.
What kind of basking light should I get? What wattage?
With the basking spot, I know that I need to emit heat and have a bright light. I recently read that halogen lights are great because they do both which would save me some space as I’m not trying to having a million light fixtures on my screen. However, I know little about which are the best brands to get. Before knowing this, I was going to get a light that emits heat such as the “Exo Terra Intense Basking Spot Lamp”. It comes in a variety of wattages and since I haven’t seen many tanks with the same dimensions as mine I am concerned with getting the right wattage that will emit enough heat for my tank. In addition to this I was going to get a bright light to sit next to the basking light. I was looking at flood lights at the store because they seemed to be the only ones labeled as daylight bulbs as daylight bulbs usually fall into the range of 4000K-5000K, except I started to get really confused because most bulbs were measured in lumens and when reading how lumens related to Kelvin….well let’s just say I’m lost in that department. :?
CHE Bulb wattage?
Another bulb on my list was a CHE, since it gets pretty cold at night where the tank will be kept. I wanted to still provide heat without a light being on. I know that a ceramic socketed fixture is needed for that, thankfully I have plenty of those. I also read it was a good idea to get a thermostat controller with that one since it can produce a lot of heat. I guess my question is, is all of that necessary and what kind of wattage should I get since it produces so much heat. I know I’ll be getting a thermostat controller with it, but I still don’t want to get anything that would be overboard.
General Lighting Questions
Is there anything that I am missing or have overlooked? Or is there anything that would be a better option than what I have already mentioned as something I would like to get? I know UVB bulbs should be changed about every 6 months, are there any other bulbs I need to change out at certain times? I definitely feel like I’ve left out a question I had so hopefully someone suggests something I forgot.
A Few Non-lighting Related Questions
I created a list of things I needed to get to make sure this enclosure had everything it needed because I’m kind of an organization freak when it comes to things like this. I want to make sure I have everything that is needed to give the healthiest and happiest life for my bearded dragon. I read that it’s a good idea to have multiple levels for a bearded dragon to bask on. I planned on using a half log as it provides a hideaway as well as an area to bask on. I was wondering if something like a large piece of driftwood would also do well to provide differing levels? I also read it’s nice to have a timer on the different lights, what lights would most benefit from being on a timer? I was also going to put a large corner bowl full of water to help with shedding, but if I’m going to be giving baths during that time anyway is the bowl of water really necessary? I know most bearded dragons don’t drink from it either way and it could also potentially raise the humidity too much, so I was just wondering if maybe that would be a waste. Also, since the tank is pretty large, I’m kind of lost on what to decorate it with, since there will be plenty of empty space. I’ve seen posts where people make their own false rocks which I think look absolutely gorgeous, but I’m not too sure I have the skill to make that.
Thank you so much to anyone who finds the time to read and respond to this post! I know it’s quite long, but I’m new at all this and would love the wisdom from those who have been doing this for many years. I’ve been creeping around this website for probably a month now and figured I’d try and see what you guys had to say. Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated whether it has to do with lighting or anything else! Also don’t worry about going into details because I love to be well informed with all the technicalities. :study: