ALLEGED PROBLEMS WITH REPTISUN T5HO 10%UVB TUBES (IN 2017)

[chameleon7]

I don't know that it's worth getting too mad over. The output is still pretty darn good and can easily get within daylight basking levels when set between 10-16'' over the basking site. Not knowing the decay, I'd stick with the rule of thumb to replace the bulb after 12 months unless you find a local reptile shop that may have a Solarmeter to help you test the output of your specific bulb.

just a quick question, cooper you say to replace every 12 months? i though it was every 6 months? it says 12 on the packet but i always just replaced it every 6... just a concern because as much as i don't want to sound stingy every dollar i can save counts. Thanks

 

[kingofnobbys]

I don't know that it's worth getting too mad over. The output is still pretty darn good and can easily get within daylight basking levels when set between 10-16'' over the basking site. Not knowing the decay, I'd stick with the rule of thumb to replace the bulb after 12 months unless you find a local reptile shop that may have a Solarmeter to help you test the output of your specific bulb.

just a quick question, cooper you say to replace every 12 months? i though it was every 6 months? it says 12 on the packet but i always just replaced it every 6... just a concern because as much as i don't want to sound stingy every dollar i can save counts. Thanks

Some really high quality tubes are good for 12 months , Ie Arcadia T8 and T5HO tubes are good for at least 12 months .

Can't comment on Zoo Med and Exo Terra tubes, not used Zoo Med UV lighting , but have have good experiences with Exo Terra's compacts.

Only thing I can say is it's my impression these are best replaced every 6 months unless you have a solarmeter radiometer which measures microW UVB / sq.cm or UVI index , my preference to use a model 6.2 which gives me a direct UVB measurement and I regularly check the output my UV sources and track the decay of UVB flux at a standard distance and when it drops to 45 microW UVB / sq.cm I take the globe out of service and set aside for the bluetongues and my wee skinky house guess.

 

[kingofnobbys]

So I just got off the phone with ZooMed....I feel like I just got bullsh*tted...
"There's no 'bad batch', all bulbs are giving adequate UVB. Too much UVB is bad for their eyes, you don't want too much!" She kept trying to convince me that there was no 'bad batch', no problems whatsoever, everything is fine here move along...And that "too much UVB = BAD"....
To which, I keep asking, "I paid good money for a HO, is it still a high output or not??" I couldn't get a straight answer out of her whatsoever.
She kept asking me "where did you hear this???" To which I said "Other reptile keepers with Solarmeters"
The only way to prove, and get a replacement, is to bring it to someone with a Solarmeter. Otherwise, I just have to trust what's written on the package, and they won't send me a replacement. Do any know of somewhere in south Louisiana I can bring it to?

I'm so mad right now...

.... i'd be miffed too, and wouldn't be accepting that , but it seems no one has bothered communicating anything about the issue to Zoo Med sales and customer service , so the offer to take back an T5HO tubes and replace with new is not going to be honoured, that's very bad customer service and very poor customer relations.
It's not your job to prove the tube is dodgey , it's their's to prove it's not, and I don't see any proof forthcoming , just weasel words trying to pass the buck and wriggle out of being held responsible. Sound's like Zoo Med's bean counters have taken over.

I'd be referring to this thread , to them .

This is precisely why I initiated it, ie to keep the B's honest.

 

[kyleena29]

To Aziara: If you want to pursue it further I would be very insistent on getting a refund. Ask for someone else higher up if you need to. Basically just tell them you aren't satisfied, they do have a guarantee on their bulbs. They will go back and fourth to argue with you but the bottom line, if you are going to worry about the bulb, then you aren't satisfied. I eventually was refunded for 7/8 bulbs, since the first one I bought was out of date. I wouldn't let them deny you a refund. They need to honor their guarantee. If you spoke with Jennifer S. she is aware as she has spoken with a few people already about this.

I don't know about other readings of other people's zoomeds but personally with the ones I have, I would have to place it within 4" to get a uvi of 3 and this was with a reflector. Of these 8 bulbs, a few of them were used a few months and the others were unused and those ones registered only a little higher. All 3 of my beardies quit eating after a couple of months under these bulbs. I can't say 100% certainty that this was the cause but I have looked at everything else and been to the vet and can't find any other causes. Now that they have been using Arcadias after four months they have only improved slightly but only willing to eat superworms if I put them in front of them. I don't know if they got used to me force feeding them. This has been a frustrating and puzzling last year for me. But that would probably need its own thread. Ultimately it led me to fork out the money for a solarmeter (and even a microscope to do my own fecals) and it was then I discovered the bulbs true readings.

The first bulb I bought (T5 10.0 34") was in June of last year and then the others were bought in October and then March of this year. I bought the solarmeter in March and thought maybe something was wrong with the old bulbs and bought the last 4 bulbs after a couple of days just to find the readings to be the same. Then I thought something had to be wrong with the solarmeter but after testing outside and with an Arcadia it's fine.

 

[CooperDragon]

I just tested the bulb again after about 5 days of running 24/7. I measured 3-6 UVI between 9-15 inches from the bulb. That moved the same range about an inch closer than what I measured last week. I'm not sure if it will be beneficial or not to continue to run the bulb and see what happens further on.

 

[Aziara]

So I talked with Jennifer...Same deal. I have to prove my bulb has sub-par UVB to get any sort of refund/replacement. At least she wasn't as rude as the first person I spoke to. Supposedly, the bulb end color doesn't mean anything at all....
Are these decent testers? Or a waste of money?
[url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/Psori...wer-meter-/322226428856?hash=item4b06311bb8:g[/url]
[url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/fuv-0...iolet-ray-/172887913562?hash=item2840ec345a:g[/url]

 

[lilacdragon]

I'm afraid those "toy" meters are a complete waste of time, Aziara.
They respond to UVA as well as UVB, so cannot tell you whether your tubes are stronger or weaker than they should be... even a weak tube will give a reading with either of these, and you won't even know whether it is weaker than it should be, if you don't have a stronger tube to compare it with. It would seem to be a big waste of money to buy one of these, and also to buy a new tube, to see if there's a difference that ZooMed will accept as a problem.

Aziara, tbh I don't think you can solve this unless you want to buy yourself a Solarmeter 6.5 - which of course will last for many many years and save you $$$ on replacement bulbs .... but if you don't either borrow one, or buy one, then do remember that the tubes you have may not be as strong as they "should" be, but they are still much stronger than the old Reptisun 10.0 T8 tubes we all used, very successfully, until the T5-HO tubes came out. Our beardies didn't get MBD back then. Yours will be absolutely fine under these, until you get new ones, or an equivalent such as the Arcadia T5-HO 12%UVB, which is virtually identical to the new manufactured Reptisun T5-HO 10.0.

 

[kyleena29]

If you are really worried and can't buy a meter just buy an arcadia for $20. I would still ask for a manager though. It's not really up to you to prove something that they know they had issues with. If they can refund me 7 bulbs and I didn't show rock solid proof other than what I say I read on my meter then they can refund you 1 bulb.

 

[Aziara]

I'm just so sick of dealing with Zoo Med stonewalling me. I'm out--I'm going to try to return the bulb to the seller I ordered from, and get an Arcadia T5-HO.
I don't want anything whatsoever to do with Zoo Med anymore. I just can't trust a company that tells different things to different people at different times.
Satisfaction guaranteed? Not on your life!

 

[CooperDragon]

I just tested the bulb again after about 5 days of running 24/7. I measured 3-6 UVI between 9-15 inches from the bulb. That moved the same range about an inch closer than what I measured last week. I'm not sure if it will be beneficial or not to continue to run the bulb and see what happens further on.

Tested again before I had to shut it down. After almost 2 weeks I read the output to show 3-6UVI between 8-14 inches from the bulb. Down again slightly. I'd consider this to still be very good output and quite sufficient for a dragon's needs. Based on the slight changes I'd say I'm seeing burn in but not unusual degradation in output.

 

[lilacdragon]

I agree with CooperDragon; those are good results and that is plenty of UVB.
Personally I don't aim for anything higher than UVI 3 - 4 in my dragon's basking zone.
The slow decay will get even slower over time. If this tube was being used long-term, it would be interesting to know how its decay would compare with a "new batch" tube.

 

[Soozn79]

When the time comes to replace my ReptiSun UVB, if I decide to switch to Arcadia, would I be able to put the Arcadia bulb in the Zoo Med fixture? I currently have the 22” ReptiSun T5 10.0 HO in the 24” Zoo Med T5 fixture. Are Arcadia bulbs similar enough? (I know very little about these things.)

 

[CooperDragon]

Yes the 22'' Arcadia 12% T5 will fit that fixture with no problem.

 

[Soozn79]

Yes the 22'' Arcadia 12% T5 will fit that fixture with no problem.

Excellent, thanks!