crossfire enclosure questions

[ikkie78]

I'm building a crossfire enclosure that will measure 5'x2'x2' and was kind of planning the lighting and wanted a few opinions. I'm going to be using a Megaray 100w bulb and a fluorescent tube light for extra light. One question was if i'm using a megaray bulb in a fixture on the inside of the enclosure should I make the enclosure a little taller than 2' for proper distance from the basking spot? I figure I could always move the basking spot up or down since the bulb would have to stay in the same place in case the temps have to be fine tuned a bit. Also I wondered if I should a couple extra ceramic light bulb fixtures on the cool end in case I need to use a CHE or need another small wattage bulb to bring temps up. Do you think this would be a good idea or unnecessary? Any help would be appreciated or if anyone has a crossfire enclosure and could post pics of the light fixtures they installed or things they wish they would have installed while building that would be a big help.

 

[ewstokes]

Extra fixtures sometimes helps because you sometimes want to rearrange things, so that could work. As for building it higher I wouldn't recommend it. I have a 4' x 2' x 2' enclosure and their using Megarays as well and they do just fine. I even had to build a small platform so they can get closer to the bulb. Hope this helps!

My enclosures are at http://www.freewebs.com/stokesenclosure

 

[ikkie78]

Thanks...how long is a megaray? How much sticks out of the socket...I know they are large but don't know the dimensions. Going to end up converting an only entertainment center I have in the garage into an enclosure but the dimensions will be the same as the crossfire basically. Just wanted to know how long the bulb is so I can plan the building. Thanks