Lighting for 100 gallon set up?

[CaseyTom]

My family & I recently adopted a 2 year old female from another family. I measured the enclosure that she came to us in & it appears to be a 40 gallon. I currently have an unoccupied 100 gallon tank (I kept fish for years) that I'm pretty sure that we are going to move her into. I've read a good bit & was given some advice last night when I posted in the feeding forum about diet but I'm still confused about exactly what I need as far as lighting is concerned and especially when we move her into the 100 gallon. Currently, she only has the lighting that she came to me with. I just took the bulbs out & one is a Reptisun 10.0 UVB and the other says it is a National Geographic Intertek ceramic heat emitter bulb ( :?: :? ). The National Geographic Intertek ceramic heat emitter bulb is a black bulb (they were leaving it on all day and night). These are both in a ZooMed double dome fixture that sits on top of the tank screen. I have so many questions that I don't quite know where to start. Can someone give me suggestions on the exact lighting that I would need for the 100 gallon? I have a hood/tube light fixture/strip that sits on top of the 100 gallon that I would like to use if possible but not sure which type of bulb to put in it. Would the UVB tube bulb be okay in that? But then I've read that it's best for the UVB tube bulb to be mounted inside of the tank in a fixture? And does the UVB tube bulb need to be long enough to go across the entire 100 gallon tank or just half of the tank? Just reading conflicting info & want to do what's best. I chose to take on this new responsibility and I want to do it right. I am in this for the long run. I may say adopting Astrid was for my kids but let's just be honest she was really for me! I just want to be sure of everything that I need so I can set up her new home correctly from the start.

 

[apndi]

What are the dimensions of the 100 gallon tank (sorry if I missed it)? Knowing how tall it is would help people give you a general idea of what wattage basking bulb you would need to achieve a basking temp of 100-110 degrees. The long tube Reptisun is your best bet for UVB (NOT the bulb). If you get the T5 it can be mounted on top of the tank; if you get the T8 it should be mounted inside the tank as the amount of UVB emitted by the T8 is not strong enough to penetrate screen. Your beardie should be able to get within 6-8 inches of the T8 and within 10-12 inches of the T5 (T5 is stronger so it can be mounted further away). (I think I have these numbers correct, anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong at any time!) The Reptisun UVB should be located alongside your basking bulb and it can stretch 1/2 to 3/4s the length of your tank; it comes in a few different lengths so measuring the length of your tank should tell you what length Reptisun you should have.

Your heat bulb is no good for daytime basking; beardies need a bulb that emits both heat and a bright light to simulate sunlight for their wellbeing. You can get a reptile bulb from a pet store (I have the 150W Exo-Terra Intense Basking Spot bulb) or you can get a regular house bulb. I'm not too familiar with which house bulbs you can use so someone else will have to chime in on that one. The ceramic heat emitters are fine for nighttime if your house gets below 65 degrees, but if the room stays between 65-75 degrees you won't need any heat source at night. Do not use any red bulbs as it bothers their eyes and if used at night may disturb their sleep. Pitch blackness is fine for nighttime.

If your 100 gallon tank is long enough, you may want a low wattage light bulb placed on the cool side to raise cool side temps to between 70-80 degrees and so that that side of the tank isn't too dark.

Hope that helps.

 

[CaseyTom]

First, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to read my long post & providing me with helpful information!!! I've also been wondering how far away from bulbs she needs to be able to get once I get everything set up & add in things for her to climb and lounge on. I just want to start off right to begin with so I don't have to keep tweaking. I just measured the 100 gallon. It's 18 inches wide, almost 21 inches in height and 48 inches long.

 

[apndi]

First, THANK YOU so much for taking the time to read my long post & providing me with helpful information!!! I've also been wondering how far away from bulbs she needs to be able to get once I get everything set up & add in things for her to climb and lounge on. I just want to start off right to begin with so I don't have to keep tweaking. I just measured the 100 gallon. It's 18 inches wide, almost 21 inches in height and 48 inches long.

No problem! 21 inches in height isn’t too bad. If you go with a reptile bulb (which is what I’m more familiar with) I would go with a 100W or a 150W. Not too sure about the wattage for a house bulb so someone else will have to comment on that one. Generally from what I’ve seen, people have their beardies 8”-12” from the basking bulb. You don’t want them to get too close as those bulbs get extremely hot and you don’t want your beardie to be able to touch it or the screen below it and get injured. You’re going to have test out different layouts and different basking furniture and distances to see what you need to achieve a good basking temp, and you’ll probably have to test out a few different bulbs as well. To measure temps I would not recommend those stick on wall dial thermometers. They’re not accurate because when is your beardie ever sticking to a wall? Lol I would recommend either a digital probe thermometer or an infrared temp gun. I have a temp gun that I bought from Petsmart; it was a little pricey but it works and is easy to use. I’m sure you could find it cheaper elsewhere if that’s what you wanted to use.

 

[CaseyTom]

Thank you so much for your help and for helping me better understand exactly what I need for the 100 gallon where lighting is concerned. Hopefully I can pick up everything I need this week & move her in this weekend! Just one more question - you said that the UVB bulb length should be from 1/2 to 3/4 length of tank, so it's not okay for it to stretch across the whole length of the tank?

 

[apndi]

Thank you so much for your help and for helping me better understand exactly what I need for the 100 gallon where lighting is concerned. Hopefully I can pick up everything I need this week & move her in this weekend! Just one more question - you said that the UVB bulb length should be from 1/2 to 3/4 length of tank, so it's not okay for it to stretch across the whole length of the tank?

I don’t think it’s a terrible thing, I think people generally just want to give their beardie an opportunity to get out of the UVB rays if they want to. My UVB stretches almost entirely across the length of the top of my 40 gal tank and my beardie seems fine. In the next few weeks I am upgrading to a larger tank and I’m keeping the UVB I have. In the new tank it’ll only stretch across half the length of the top. I’ve seen people have 2 UVBs so it goes the whole length of the enclosure. Generally you just want to give your beardie options; give him space away from the UVB and basking so he can move away from them if he wants.