Few things about UVB bulb setup

[saiyan25]

Hello guys,
I made my very first post on this forum after seeing the statement 'mesh screen blocks more than half (or most) of the UVB.' I was very skeptical about this so I started doing research to see if anyone has measured it. I ended up on this website.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubemeshtests.htm
They have a nice graph on the website, but I did not want to copy and paste it on this post because of possible copyright issues.

They measured the UVB at various settings. I'll summarize the results of UVB output in uW/cm^2 at 6 inches away from the bulb.
reflector, no mesh: 87 (highest possible)
reflector, 5mm mesh: 63 (72% of the max)
no reflector, no mesh: 47 (54% of the max)

The results indicate that you have about 30% loss of UVB when there's a mesh screen in front of it. Also, the loss is higher when the UVB is mounted inside the viv without a reflector. I wanted to share this information because I see many owners going through the trouble of making custom UVB mounts inside the viv without a reflector. I hope this information helped in making decisions about setting up the UVB bulb.

If there are any other sources of UVB measurements (whether they agree or contradict with this result), please feel free to share them. UVB is a very important topic, so I hope to rely on more than one source.

 

[brittani299]

Good info thanks

 

[seanu13]

I was just about to mount my UVB strip inside the tank without a reflector :shock: (the strip didn't come with one, just a clear plastic guard cover).

So now I'm very interested to see other people's replies. :?:

 

[Pugwinkle]

Is there a way to make a reflector for the fixture you just purchased? I was planning to do the DIY light fixture rather than buying from the reptile store but it sounds like we need to figure out a way to make a reflector. I also was wondering how the animal benefits from the UVB if it's stuck on the back of the tank? Shouldn't the UVB be shining down on them?

 

[saiyan25]

Is there a way to make a reflector for the fixture you just purchased? I was planning to do the DIY light fixture rather than buying from the reptile store but it sounds like we need to figure out a way to make a reflector. I also was wondering how the animal benefits from the UVB if it's stuck on the back of the tank? Shouldn't the UVB be shining down on them?

In the link that I had on the original post, they tested a homemade bent aluminum reflector (series 8). It had the second highest UVB reading. If you're not interested in using commercially available reptile light fixture, that might be of interest to you. So you would have this on the upper corner of the viv, and the bent reflector will be pointed towards the basking site. I hope this helped.