mikey7":pj64fcwl said:
What is the difference between the 10.0 and 5.0?
Effectively, the 10.0 is 2x stronger than the 5.0.
The 5.0 is designed with tropical creatures in mind, creatures that need lesser uv requirements.
The 10.0 is designed with desert creatures in mind.
So you can use the 5.0, it just needs to be twice as close as the 10.0 HO. So, the 10.0 can be 12-15 inches unobstructed, which means the 5.0 needs to be 6-8 inches from the basking site unobstructed.
If you want to mount this outside your tank, you will need the basking site to be within about 4 inches from the bulb to get the proper exposure. So ultimately, if you end up using the 5.0 HO, you'll still want to mount it inside the tank at 6-8 inches away from the basking point. IF you switch out to the 10.0, you can move the fixture back on top above the screen.
And, halogen or flood doesn't matter. Either or can get your temperatures to the proper range. And, most floods are halogen bulbs anyways. The only thing you need to care about with a bulb is two things.
1. it gets you the proper temps
2. it doesn't give off some funky light color like red or blue.
So most household bulbs fit this bill as long as they get you the temps you need. Do note that obviously CFL's and LEDs don't put off much heat, so they are the two types of household bulbs that really don't work as basking bulbs.
-Brandon