Hi all,
I am getting a beardie but need some help with the setup of my viv, I have a 4ft×2ft×2ft but I'm unsure on the lighting and basking spot. Can anyone give advice on the wattage that I need and is a ceramic heater best?
Thanks in advance
For basking it depends more on temperature and bright white light. I like using PAR38 halogen flood lights with the highest lumens I can find while getting the basking spot to 100-110 and cool side 75-85 or so. The 90w 1790 lumen bulbs work pretty well in my setup but this may vary. You might need to try a few out to see what works best for yours. Maybe start with a 65 or 70w and move up from there. If you can get pretty close to the right range you could set the bulb on a lamp dimmer or dimming thermostat to fine tune the output if you want to. The halogen bulbs handle dimmers pretty well compared to the reptile specific bulbs which sometimes produce a humming sound when dimmed.
I would use a CHE only for overnight heat or supplemental heat if needed in addition to a bright white basking light. If the tank temps stay in the high 60s or low 70s overnight you won't need to use one.
I've asked around and a few people have said that all I would need is the uvb bulb at the top and a ceramic heater on a pulse thermostat. I wanted to ask more people as this doesn't sound right to me.
I'm trying to find out as much as I can before getting a beardie so I can give the best setup that I can.
Is it better to have a white bulb and ceramic heater?
The best way to think about lighting is trying to imitate natural sunlight over the basking area while allowing options across the tank in terms of heat and UVB exposure. Sunlight is basically bright white visible with infrared providing heat and a strong UVB component. By taking away the bright basking bulb you're cutting a big component of the visible light and replacing it with infrared. This is also why it's important to use a strong UVB light so it produces UVI similar to mid morning or late afternoon on a bright sunny day (usually 3-6 UVI or so) over the basking area.
A 4x2x2 is a good sized tank. If its made out of anything solid it will be surprisingly dark and UVB lights, especially T8 lights, are not as bright as you would think. Cooper has some good lighting advice for you. I would always recommend lamps over non-light emitting heat sources. Sure, they can live under them and it meets their needs... but these are 'sunworshiping' reptiles, lots of nice bright light is necessary for mental welbeing.
For my 4x2x2 I two 22" T5 lights, one day light and one UVB and a 65W halogen globe inside of a reflective dome. I found the height was too short to use a internally reflected flood light and that caused hotspots in the basking area.