New tank lighting question

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Normie

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So my little Norman is now not so little so I upgraded him to a 40 gal enclosure but now the lighting isn't sufficient so I am in the process of upgrading that as well but I had a few questions. Attached is a picture of the current setup. The light on the left is a 100W PowerSun all in one while the one on the right is a 100W basking light (in his smaller tank the PowerSun was enough to heat it, but I had to add basking light to bump up temps). The lid on this enclosure isn't the normal wire mesh, it is solid metal with holes punched in it which of course blocks more light than usual. As you can see he likes to hang out right near the top of the enclosure a lot of the time, although I find him at varying heights on the log or even on the floor throughout the day.

I bought a Repisun T5 HO 24" hood with a 10.0 bulb as mentioned in the guide on here. Since the lid blocks so much light I was going to move the UVB bulb inside the tank but obviously this would be way too close for his preferred basking location. The hood also came with a 5.0 bulb in it, so I still have that as one of my options. So I guess my options are:

1 - Leave the 10.0 bulb in there and have the hood on top of the tank and leave everything inside as is? I'm guessing the combination of being farther away and the metal lid blocking UVB should put the amount somewhere in the right range?
2 - Put the hood inside the tank, swap out for 5.0 bulb and maybe reduce the angle on that log? This would also allow me to return the 10.0 bulb and get my $30 back.
3 - Put the hood inside the tank, leave 10.0 bulb in and replace the log with something shorter and let him bask further down?
4 - Something else that you experts here can come up with that my newbie brain couldn't fathom?

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The 5.0 bulb is equivalent to a T 8-- I am not savy on those All in One bulbs and the Power Sun I am not sure how good they are anyway - I know the Mega Ray is supposed to be good - so I would put the Reptisun in the tank since you have the 5.0 and lower the basking spot to 8-10 inches from the bulb - or you can replace the 5.0 to the 10.0 and leave on top of the tank and have the basking decor 6-8 inches from decor if the screen is a fine mesh if its a wide holed screen it would need to be 8-10 but I would not return the fixture or the bulb - you can always swap that bulb out to a 10.0 in 6 months - as the 5.0 needs to be changed out then
Karrie
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I would keep the 10.0 bulb and just set it on top of the tank. It should be maybe 10'' or so from the main basking area but if you have branches etc that allow closer access that's OK. Are you still going to use the PowerSun? I would probably keep that as a portable basking light for in the house or for travel but I'd stick with just the T5 in the enclosure. The 100w PowerSun provides adequate UVB at around 12'' or so.
 

Normie

Member
Original Poster
Even with this style of screen on the top? I feel like I am wasting so much light, but I guess it would also be the easiest solution.
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CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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That looks like thicker mesh than usual so it may be intercepting quite a bit of light like you're saying. If you can mount the light underneath it, that may be better as long as it's still about 12'' above the main basking site. Otherwise you may want to cut a hole in the top under the light, or if you don't have other animals around you might be able to remove the top and suspend the lighting overhead using adjustable stands (this is how I have mine configured).
 
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