Lighting Help for Newbies (:

[Rivisio]

just wondering what light fixtures to use in my crossfire tank?
i'm wanting to use about a 50watt halogen on basking side, and 40-60 watt on cool side.

Looking for ideas on fixtures so far I have these,
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/porcelain-lamp-holder-with-leads/905883l
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/two-regular-lampholder-kit-150-white/954529

Also looking for a 24" flourescent light fixture, can I use any light fixture or do they need certain parameters?
I read else where I have to use an electronic ballast and i also read in the same topic that it doesnt matter.

 

[Mattrg]

Bought everything for a setup exactly like this, will a 36 inch fluorescent tube be too big? That's what it looked like was in the tank to me so I ordered it but now I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to have it stretch over 3/4 of the tank.

 

[CooperDragon]

That should be OK as long as you have a bright white light over the basking area to protect his eyes.

 

[jarich]

Bright lights do not protect their eyes. The only thing a bright light will do is possibly reduce the diameter of the pupil, depending on placement. Just make sure that the UV light is mounted directly above the dragon, and not on the side or back of the enclosure and there is no need for any protective measures. Im not saying that you shouldnt have bright lights, they are essential for other reasons, but dont count on them as some sort of safety measure against improperly mounted UV lights.

As for the UV you bought Mattrg, its fine to have it run 3/4 of the enclosure, though thats about as far as you would want it to go. Make sure its mounted all the way to the side with the basking bulb.

Rivisio, yes you want one with an electronic ballast in it, but its best not to scrimp on the fixture by buying a cheap household one. It is important to get a high quality fixture and ballast otherwise you run the risk of reducing your output. A cheap ballast and fixture can reduce your UV output by up to half, so takes away any point in buying the best bulb. Stick with the zoomed fixture. If you havent bought them yet, then upgrade to the T5 bulb and fixture as these will save you money over time. The prices are about the same, but the T5 bulbs last a year, whereas the old T8 bulbs only last around 6 months. Think the T5 fixture is a few bucks more, but not much.

 

[timisimaginary]

so this weekend i had a chance to test out a T5 reptisun 10.0 HO bulb with my solarmeter. phew, when they say "high output" they're not kidding. at the 6-8" distance recommended for the T8 bulbs it was putting out over 300 uW. and that was measuring it THROUGH a mesh screen on top of the cage. in contrast, my T8 bulb at this distance puts out about 100 uW. this bulb is hotter even than the mega ray MVB i use. and it was 2 months old, so it was definitely burned in. if you're using this bulb i'd make sure to maintain a minimum distance of 12". at the bottom of the cage (about 12") it was still putting out 200 uW.

 

[Polarthief]

Hey, absolute newbie here, would appreciate some help!

I've done so many searches on light fixtures, and would greatly appreciate one pointed out (link please?) that would work well with a ReptiSun 10.0 (or Arcadia setup since people claim those to be better?). I have a 40G viv and my baby is only ~7 weeks old if that changes anything. I can't ever find these "$9 fixtures at Walmart" anywhere

 

[PMPerformance]

The fixture you would be looking for at Walmart is the Lights Of America fixture. Its a pain to find on the site. I just picked up 2 24"s for my 2 40 gallon tanks this weekend. They were $8.97 a piece if that helps.
They have 18"s also.

I use the Repti sun 10.0 with no problems I can see. I had the 18" for my younger beardie. I just got another last night and stepped both up to 24"

 

[PMPerformance]

Now onto my own lighting woes.

I have been using 5.5" dome's for about 6-7 months now with what I thought to be with success. I got a temp gun this weekend and started playing and found the hammock in the basking spot was not holding any heat. I put the hide/basking piece we originally used in the backing spot and the temps are now holding much better.

However now I am setting up my other tank I am wondering what I should change.
I am running the Zoomed 75w basking bulb in the 5.5" dome on the lid and seems to be getting on the hotter side around 115-118. I got a stand to bring it up a bit this morning and now the temps dropped considerably.
I am wondering if I should go with an 8" dome and 100W bulb with a different fixture with dimmer and stand and get uber amounts of adjustability to dial in.

Any other considerations to take in with jumping to a bigger dome? Maybe more spread light/heat output for more gradient temp changes and not as drastic down tank?

 

[jarich]

First, I would recommend not buying the cheap Walmart fixtures. Those are meant for bulbs that merely produce visible light, and not meant to give the bulbs the output needed for good UVB exposure. They are nice in that it doesnt cost as much, but it limits the output of the bulb. Essentially there is no point in spending the extra on the Zoomed or Arcadia brand bulb (they are pretty much the same Polarthief) if you limit the output with the fixture. It really is worth it to spend the extra money and get the appropriate fixture from Zoomed or Arcadia.

As for your question PMPerformance, a dimming thermostat is a great idea. That way you can set the temperature and the light will never go above that. However, for your situation as it is, I would recommend getting a 60 watt halogen light instead. That should drop your temperature to around 105 F or so. For basking lamps, since you arent going for a specific wavelength of light, there is no need to use the reptile specific lamps. You can just buy the PAR 38 outdoor flood lights from your hardware store and get the light and heat you need.

 

[PMPerformance]

What uvb fixtures do you reccomend then? All the zoomed branded ones are above the screen ones and multiple posts on here state this will filter out too much uvb. Also leaving no room to keep white light and basking heat on the same end of the tank since the hoods are soo bulky.

Also what is to gain by going with a bigger dome? Just more spread light than a more focused light/heat pattern?


*************Edit*********************
I saw they have a combo hood thing. How will a normal incandecant work for heat? I had no luck in the past with them which is why I use the basking bulbs. Will the basking bulbs be ok to mount sideways in that hood? Or do they need to be spotlighted facing down?

 

[Polarthief]

First, I would recommend not buying the cheap Walmart fixtures. Those are meant for bulbs that merely produce visible light, and not meant to give the bulbs the output needed for good UVB exposure. They are nice in that it doesnt cost as much, but it limits the output of the bulb. Essentially there is no point in spending the extra on the Zoomed or Arcadia brand bulb (they are pretty much the same Polarthief) if you limit the output with the fixture. It really is worth it to spend the extra money and get the appropriate fixture from Zoomed or Arcadia.

Edit: Edited out everything involving Arcadia as I just went an ordered a ReptiSun 10.0. Off to Walmart tomorrow when the bulb arrives Friday!

Let me ask this though: Is there a noticeable difference between Arcadia and ReptiSun 10.0?

 

[jarich]

What uvb fixtures do you reccomend then? All the zoomed branded ones are above the screen ones and multiple posts on here state this will filter out too much uvb. Also leaving no room to keep white light and basking heat on the same end of the tank since the hoods are soo bulky.

Also what is to gain by going with a bigger dome? Just more spread light than a more focused light/heat pattern?


*************Edit*********************
I saw they have a combo hood thing. How will a normal incandecant work for heat? I had no luck in the past with them which is why I use the basking bulbs. Will the basking bulbs be ok to mount sideways in that hood? Or do they need to be spotlighted facing down?

Generally speaking, the same brands as the bulbs that are most often recommended. If you are mounting it inside the enclosure it may take a bit more creativity, it's true. You can usually use zip ties, wire or other metal retaining clips fairly simply though.

As for the larger hoods, since the bulbs have reflectors inside them, the hood really just traps the heat. That's why the bigger hoods are for larger wattage bulbs. It doesn't determine beam width or anything like that though.

I wouldn't recommend a normal incandescent bulb for basking no. The halogen is a much more efficient bulb so will give you more heat and light while using less energy. And you always want to have lights pointing down if possible. Even basking lamps can irritate eyes if it shines directly into them.

 

[PMPerformance]

So I just setup my girls tank last night with what I had already. I may upgrade the Walmart fixtures in the near future, but at the moment I needed to use them to get UVB awhile.

Now I got this idea from another thread and just made it work with my setup. Since I mounted the fixture on the back of the tank, I was losing light output out the top of the screen. I got some metal reflective tape from lowes and ran like 3 strips wide down the inside of the screen.
Now once lost UVB reflects off this tape and shines back down into the tank more intensely and fills the tank ALOT more.

I am going to do this on my boys tank in the next week or so once I modify his fixture too. He still has an 18" wider fixture. i got another 24" fixture when I got my girls and just need to upgrade his bulb yet to install it.

Figured this was worth sharing for anyone who mounts these open fixtures inside the tank though to try the reflective tape

 

[JetLyfeChris]

I've been told I should make this, so here it goes LOL.


How many watts should my basking light be?
Since there are a number of things that can affect the temperature in the cage, such as the size of the cage, how well insulated it is, how far away the basking light is, the room temperature of your house, ect. there isn't one light bulb that will work for everyone. For my 40 gallon, I used flood and halogen bulbs there were between 50-65 watts. In my wooden 4x2x2, I use flood lights that are between 30-45 watts. Keep in mind that flood lights, spot lights, and halogen bulbs will be hotter than a regular light bulb because they are more focused in one spot. Wooden cages will also be more insulated and hold more heat than glass cages, so they may need less watts to maintain a good temperature.

Hello i wanted to ask a few questions on the lighting since you are familiar with a wooden enclosure. My Enclosure is 6x2x2 all i need are the 2 lights which include the day time and nighttime bulb and wanted to see if you could recommend me a good wattage for both bulbs and a good seller.
Here is some extra information about my enclosure.

My Room stays around 68-71 at night but wanted a night time bulb just in case it dropped below that.

The enclosure is made from all plywood except for the front wall which is made up of 2 sliding glass doors.

The back of the enclosure has 3 vents that are 6x16 position equally.

I have bought a Large Deep Dome Ceramic Lamp as well as the Mini Deep Dome and cut out both holes on each side of the top of the enclosure.I also did the same with the UVB ReptiSun fixture but instead i placed it in the middle.

The ReptiSun 10.0 was placed approximately 4.75 inches from the basking spot/Bulb and 4.75 inches from the night time bulb.

The enclosure will be used for 1 Juvenile Bearded Dragon.

The Enclosure is about 180 Gallons

I could really use the help Thanks.

 

[FortheLoveofLizzie]

Does anyone know anything about All Living Things 50 uvb 30 inch strip light for a screened 40 gallon tank? I'm concerned about the 50 but it said it was for bearded dragons. Also I am using a heat lamp as well and she is about 5-6 inches from it while basking