Help With Light Placement!

[Screamin99]

I know what is good, what is bad product wise. ( minus the MVB's ) If anyone would like to recommend one please, it would make my lighting issues a lot easier lol. So I just bought a new tank.. 36x24x24.. So a little larger than the standard 40gallon breeders (about 90 gallons if my memory serves me well enough) Not sure how to setup my lights with this.

I was going to put a house bulb in a dome and place it in the back for the heat and put a 36" reptisun 10 tube in the front on the track light section. Im curious as to if that would work? I can't really get him TOO close to that as its in the main FRONT of the tank. Now if someone knows of a MVB bulb that I could use I'll put the MVB in the back in the dome and just use a regular old bulb in the 36" up front. MAYBE I could find a way to hang a 24" reptisun from the roof or the back, but that might be a bit hard as I don't have the tank in front of me directly. I don't want to drill or alter the tank maybe some adhesive hooks, but again not sure how well that would work with the tanks surface.

Does anyone have any ideas?

And before anyone says, that was an expensive tank.. Yes, it sure was. But I personally built a crossfire and hated it. I didn't feel comfy painting the outsides and my cuts did not come out crisp/clean and I was not pleased with the vents on the sides. I wanted the circle vents for the rear and couldn't find them. Getting the plexiglass right was also a pain in the butt. I took a 87 dollar loss on the board's,caulk and the vents on the sides and also the tracks. So hey, this was my next best option. I couldn't fit the 4x2x2

 

[Screamin99]

Any suggestions at least?

 

[avcs]

Actually your plan of a wide repti-sun and house bulb sounds good. Can I ask what kind of tank that is? It looks really nice!

 

[Screamin99]

Thanks my only concern with the bulb being up front is the fact that its going to be nearly impossible to get him close to it? Thanks im very pleased with the tank looks/design. I looked at a bunch and finally settled on this one. I just did not like my crossfire viv that I built it did not look clean and crisp and I didn't want it being an eye sore in my home. I wish I had more space and could have got the 4x2x2 but alas not enough room :/

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Command hooks will probably work for hanging up the Reptisun. You can use an under counter fixture to hold it. The fixtures have two or more holes in the back that are meant to hook on nails, but you can easily use command hooks with them (that's what I used). Is the tank made out of some type of smooth plastic? (That's what it looks like in the pictures). Command hooks will most likely stick to that. I have a melamine viv that my dad built me and the command hooks work well on that, and the melamine has a bit of a texture to it, and the command hooks are doing a great job! I use these http://www.amazon.com/Command-17067-Small-Hooks-Strips/dp/B000FCCZEC/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1328839853&sr=1-3 because the wire metal hook part easily fit into the holes in the back of the fixture. The command hooks have an adhesive backing (you can reuse the hooks, just buy new adhesive backings) that are easily applied. To take them off, you simply pull on the bottom tab and the backing will stretch and easily come off of the wall.

I always recommend a classic Reptisun Tube 10.0 UVB and a Bright Light Basking Bulb over any MVB's, since some MVB brands are known to cause issues or malfunction or whatever. But so far so great with my Reptisun! It's been 2-3 months with my Reptisun tube and I have never been happier with any other bulb my entire life!

I'm sorry your previous crossfire project didn't work out too well. Your new tank looks really cool, almost modern looking. I think your beardie will love it!

 

[Screamin99]

Thanks for all the advisce everyone.. the tank is here! Will work on how to do the lights. My thing now is what to use as a substrate, the tank has a raised spot in the middle for a Under tank heater

Obviously I am not going to use a UTH, but with it up off the bottom like that now im wondering what to do for substrate? If I use tile I know bugs/insects will manage to crawl under the edges and hide. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[PumpkinJelly]

You can buy linoleum and then somehow adhere it to the bottom of the tank. Not the linoleum tiles, but the kind you buy in big sheets. It will be a bit elevated in the one part but overall it would work to make a nice solid bottom.

What are the dimensions of the floor of the tank? I'm just wondering. It looks small...

Or you could buy repticarpet, that's the easiest choice.

 

[Screamin99]

It's almost a full 36x24. That is not the tank I purchased in the pictures; That is a picture from the website that I used to show for reference. I ordered a black one. Its like a molded tank, not sure of the material it's made of. It feels sturdy. Its light as heck too. sounds hollow if you tap on it. Almost reminds me of tough plastic very strange, but it looks amazing. The quality is great, strong screen that is riveted to the tank itself doors are nice. Im very pleased. It was a lot of money, but If people are going to look at this in my home I wanted it to look better than my white crossfire build.

Thinking about it im still not sure about the base. I want it to look good I know that much 8)

The tank I bought is 36x24x24..

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Do you have any pictures of it?

 

[avcs]

It looks like a cage from Showcase cages. Really nice cages but fixed lighthing does not seem ideal for beardies. However, if you get a strong enough light and provide a way to get the dragon up to around 6-8 inches from the light, it should be fine.

 

[Screamin99]

It looks like a cage from Showcase cages. Really nice cages but fixed lighthing does not seem ideal for beardies. However, if you get a strong enough light and provide a way to get the dragon up to around 6-8 inches from the light, it should be fine.

Yeah, its from Showcase Cages. The Reptisun can be mounted in the tank with command hooks, not worried about that so much now.