i have a 36x18x18 for my DB i was wondering how close the mvb should be. right now its about 10" away from the basking spot and the temp is around 100f right now. can i move it closer to get it hotter or is it to close?
10" should be good and the temp of 100 should be fine as well. If you want to get it a little hotter try getting a higher wattage bulb when you replace yours but you may want a dimmer as well.
The dimensions of your tank sounds like a 40 gallon breeder. I have to say that a 160 watt MVB is a lot of wattage for that sized tank. With the 100 watt MVB, you would want it a minimum of 12" away but 14 to 16 inches would be safer. BUT with a 160 watt, the distance increases to a minimum of 18" with 20 to 22 inches being safer. I would recommend that you make the distance adjustment asap.
What type of thermometer are you using a round gauge (dial), digital strip, temperature gun, or a digital with a long wire & probe end? If using either the round gauge or digital strip, those can be off as much as 20 degrees. So it's important that you invest in either a temp gun or digital with probe end right away so that you know what the true temps are.
I also wanted to mention that you can't use a dimmer on a mercury vapor bulb.
hi i have a temp gun that i use for my RC hobby i know that it is accurate, if i move it up to 18" i will only get the basking area up to around 85F to 90F how to i get the temp up higher? or will the heat get better when the bulb gets used more?
Ok, thanks for answering that. Bob from ReptileUV told me that the temp gun should be held 2" away from the area you're checking. I've heard that the Solar Glo's don't throw out as much heat as some of the other MVB's so you're probably gonna need to use a lower wattage household bulb alongside it. So the most important thing is to get the distance right because the MVB's throw out a lot of UV rays that can be damaging to your beardie if it's too close. Once you get the distance, then you work with finding the right wattage 2nd bulb to get the right temps. What is the temp of the cool side?
Is the MVB brand new? If it is, they do have a 2 to 3 day burn-in time which means they can throw out more heat after the first day.
So, once you get the distance right, a lower wattage heat bulb should help bring up the temp a little on the cool side too but 75 isn't bad but 78 to 82 is recommended with 80 being ideal.
so if i put a a lower wattage heat bulb on the cool side that should help the temps on the hot side to right? what wattage do you think i should use, and what kind of dome should i use.
Well, you don't want the cool side too much hotter. Once you move the MVB further away, see what the temps are then and adjust accordingly. Are you using a deep dome now for the MVB?
You might want to try a 60 or 75 watt household bulb on the basking side first. You can use just a standard size clamp lamp but I always make sure to use a one with a ceramic top. I think I would go with the 8 1/2 inch size clamp lamp rather than a smaller or larger size.
The reason that I stated that is because Bob from retileuv mentioned that they can't be used with a dimmer but perhaps he was talking about a standard dimmer and not an expensive one. :dontknow: But this is what I've always read. :?