Am I doing this right?

[Carnivorouszoo]

^^That's what I have. I used the 3M hooks so that if I upgrade the cage I can move the light and not have to get a whole new one

 

[Trogdorpheus]

The repti sun doesnt even fit in the zilla slimline fixture anyways.

Yes it does, because that's what I have.

The zilla slimline isn't as bad as people tend to say it is, I used it for 6 months with no ill effects. People here have just been indoctrinated into believing that the only good UVB bulb is the reptiSun 10.0. I'll still agree that the reptiSun is best, and I won't use the zilla again, but that's not to say that using the slimline would be harmful. Also, in a 40 gallon breeder, an 18" fixture would be more than alright.

 

[scubasteve25]

well, look at it like this, not every single person that blows up an m-80 fire cracker in their hand losses the hand, but it does happen, same thing with the zilla slimline, not everyone has the bad effects, but it does happen, so better safe now, than sorry later. just my .02

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Meh, then again it could have been people setting up the zilla (which has a higher intended UVB output) at the same distance that you'd want the ReptiSun which would create an excellent example of over exposure.

All I'm saying is that rather than drop the bulb and go buy another one, you could try it out for a day or two and monitor the dragons reaction to it. If there are issues, then yeah take it back... but the vast majority of the time there won't be any problems.

 

[Claudiusx]

but the vast majority of the time there won't be any problems.

I don't think you can say this with only 6 months of experience, when the opposite has been said with years of experience, including my own.

-Brandon

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Then my question to you is, how close was your Zilla fixture in your own past experience?

I'm trying to take an unbiased approach here, I have seen no real (statistically relevant) evidence to support the fact that the bulbs are the culprit rather than people placing them inappropriately.

We should also consider that there are probably a vast number of people that have used the bulb with no ill effects that don't bother with this site. 9 times out of 10, the people who are looking for answers are the ones having problems... so you've already got a biased pool of experiences to draw from.

 

[Claudiusx]

Well you already implied that reptiglos can cause problems :

9 times out of 10, the people who are looking for answers are the ones having problems... so you've already got a biased pool of experiences to draw from.

Even if its a biased pool, it still shows that the bulb has problems with it.

As for my past experience, I could throw out a number but it would mostly be a lie because I was not aware of ill effects of the bulb so I therefore was not keeping scientific data on it. A safe guess would be 6-10 inches.

Statistics and science and data all have there place, but all the data in the world wouldn't change the fact that people have had problems with them. Even if science said that the amount of uvb is perfect for a dragon, and a dragon still has problems, then that science gets trumpted by experience.

You keep bringing up the idea that maybe people just had a problem with them because of the distance. I won't argue that point, maybe that was the cause, I don't have a way of knowing for sure, and I don't think anyone really has a way of knowing for sure, but, I would not want to use a bulb that might work, or might cause ill effects if my dragon is too close or too far from it.

Thats where I stand, I am going to leave it at that before either one of us gets in trouble. :mrgreen:
We all are free to our opinions, but both sides of the table should be shown when another dragons life is at stake. Which is why I posted, not to argue with you, but just show both sides to the table ( I don't think that saying even makes sense, but you know what I mean lol )

-Brandon

 

[Trogdorpheus]

Well, my main point is that I'm sure you could find bad reviews about the reptisun too if you looked in the right places. Its just with a lower output, you probably won't encounter over-exposure to UVB often unless the dragon was sitting with its head in the hood.

With that, I'll finish with this: The main good thing to come out of this, is that you're that much closer to white beard :mrgreen:

 

[Beardednoob]

Well, my main point is that I'm sure you could find bad reviews about the reptisun too if you looked in the right places. Its just with a lower output, you probably won't encounter over-exposure to UVB often unless the dragon was sitting with its head in the hood.

With that, I'll finish with this: The main good thing to come out of this, is that you're that much closer to white beard :mrgreen:

:?

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

With the last few posts, I'd like to see some bad reviews on the reptisun cause I can't find any.

 

[Trogdorpheus]

I doubt you'll find any on this site, but I'll look around.
Edit:
Hm... they seem harder to find than I would have thought, but I'm not surprised. Seeing as their output is much more appropriate for a bearded dragons at close range, then the bulbs that did in fact have quality issues would likely be showing a diminished UVB output which most owners wouldn't even notice since the bulbs would be replaced (likely) long enough in advance for there to be severe issues.

I think the point of this thread has gone drastically awry. I wasn't saying that if someone has a choice between Zilla and ReptiSun they should choose either because they're the same. They're most definitely not, and I'll never use anything other than ReptiSun again. My point was, that if someone has already purchased the zilla bulb and can't return it for whatever reason, then they are most likely ok to just use what they have for a little while and change it out at 5 or 6 months like they would normally anyway. I don't need anyone here to tell me that there are more things that can go wrong with the zilla hurting their eyes, because I know that. But, if monitored properly and kept at a more appropriate distance to account for higher output, you'll be fine using a zilla or other bulb for the duration of the bulb. There's always going to be horror stories though.

I apologize for stirring everyone up so much about this, but I am just very cynical about things like this until I actually prove it myself. I work as a process engineer and so I deal a lot with quality issues; customers coming and complaining about product failure and what-not... when literally 95% of the time it is user error.

 

[Beardednoob]

I work as a process engineer and so I deal a lot with quality issues; customers coming and complaining about product failure and what-not... when literally 95% of the time it is user error.

I work in a facility that utilizes process engineers, their outlook is allot like yours but, cannot seem to wrap their finger around the thought that their decisions are not always right. Implementing a new item for use in an old process, theories as such has riddled my department with down time and lost production output.
On the bright side I get to do allot more standing around and doing nothing then before.

Reptisun 10.0 has a proven track record, there is a sang older then I am and often times repeated. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.
As stated before, better safe then sorry.

Back to the topic of the OP.
Here is some reading for you. http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubemeshtests.htm

 

[Carnivorouszoo]

I did not mean bad reviews on this site, I meant at all. (shrugs) I can't find any at all. . . .besides one that said the price was outrageous for something so small.