Lighting question:

[IzzyTony]

Heya guys,

I have a quick question for you all:

I use an Arcadia 12% 18" strip UVbulb, and I have read numerous posts and threads about the distance from Basking light (6-10" seems to be the general opinion for basiking bulb distance from beardy).
So it brings me to my question. How far from the UVB strip should Izzy be able to bask? At the moment i have his 18" strip situated above his main basking log and to the left of his heat lamp (so he gets the heat and Uv at the same time, as i read its best to have teh basking bulb close to the UV to reduce the UV glare into the beardies eyes?). Now depending on where izzy is on the log (bamboo root log) he can be anywhere from 5-10inches away from his UVB strip while basking, is this too close? I have the UV strip mounted in the middle of his tank above the basking log.

I will post a pic of the set up in the link below..
https://picasaweb.google.com/105660496751170946892/Lighting?authkey=Gv1sRgCKvTgqGtmKLEoAE#


Does my positioning of the lighting look ok? His basking temps are spot on where his heat lamp is situated (between 100-110f), but should i reposition my uvb? As im sure you can tell... My tank isnt really deep. Its much longer than it is deep, so I am somewhat limited to where i can position the UVB (the last image in the album is purely to show the depth of the tank

It's funny how looking after izzy makes me feel like a parent.. Just want everything to be fine, and I'm more cautious at the moment as he's a grumpy little reptile (almost albino white and in the middle of a full shed!)

Regards,

Tony

 

[IzzyTony]

Anyone?
:mrgreen:

 

[SherryInFL]

No help as I am a newbie myself but I LOVE the log! I want that!

 

[IzzyTony]

Yep it is indeed a nice log

BumP!

 

[callum84]

With an arcadia T8 tube then no, 5 inches is not too close.
The arcadia T5 tubes put out double the UVB of the T8 so I wouldnt worry about over exposure.
As long as your dragon can retreat to a less exposed area I wouldnt worry too much.

Positioning looks ok, personally would have prefered uv tube to travel further into hot area creating a UV gradient from hot to cold but as long as hes basking under the UV then should be fine.

 

[IzzyTony]

With an arcadia T8 tube then no, 5 inches is not too close.
The arcadia T5 tubes put out double the UVB of the T8 so I wouldnt worry about over exposure.
As long as your dragon can retreat to a less exposed area I wouldnt worry too much.

Positioning looks ok, personally would have prefered uv tube to travel further into hot area creating a UV gradient from hot to cold but as long as hes basking under the UV then should be fine.

Heya,

Thanks for the reply. I was toying with the idea of moving the UV closer to the basking bulb.. But was worried that the heat emmiting from the bulb might damage the rubber holders on the UV strip (using a UVB controller which has 2 rubber/plastic caps, one each end with a cable running to the control uint) I know the top of the viv gets crazy hot off teh bulb and didnt want to cause any damage to the rubber on the bulb... I know these controllers are designed to house UVB and must have some resistence to heat, but the heater bulb kicks out way more heat than the UVB does.

Moving the bulb UVB a few inches closer to the lamp wouldnt be hard to do at all, All i need to do is drill a couple of pin sized holed in the top of the tank and move it along and refix it in place again.

I have however also been toying with the idea of changing what izzy sits on to bask, so he's not so close to the UVB strip.. You can't see it in the pics i posted but i have a decent sized rock in the cold side of his tank. I found the rock while walking my dog, and cooked it in the oven for 90mins on max heat, then soaked it in white vinegar /water mix for a week then cooked it again (hope thats enough to kill all germs?).

Anyway i was going to move teh bamboo log you can see to the shaded side, and the rock to the warmer side, but would that be more detrimental? as its not as high so further away from the heat and UVB also rocks get way hotter, and stay way hotter for a lot longer than logs do?

All suggestions welcome

Edit: You mentioned t5 and t8 arcadia? what does this mean? and would i have to rmeove the bulb to read the stamp on it to determine which i have?

Also been googling around a bit and see arcadia reccomend using a reflector to maximise exposure, Is this needed in a tank as shallow in depth as mine?

 

[callum84]

You definately have a T8 so dont worry about that. Its just the size of tube. Was just higlighting that the new arcadia T5 models have double the the UVB to put your mind at ease with the distance your using.

If you drop his basking area you would need to make sure the temps were still ok. If your getting good basking temperatures at moment id leave as is. Good thing about your log is it allows him to choose how close he is to basking lamp but still gets a good dose of UV. Also plenty of shaded areas if needed.

If you fitted a reflector you could move tube further away towards rear and closer to right. Reflectors can almost double the UVB ouput and are well worth it in my opinion. They concentrate the UV normally wasted into top of viv and throw it out over a wide angle.

To be honest i wouldnt worry to much about the little details. As long as cool, hot and basking temperatures are ok your setup looks more than adequate.

Your rock will be fine with that cleaning regime. I usualy soak in water with a little bleach for a few hours then rinse well and soak in clean cold water for 30 mins. Then put in oven and ramp up temp over an hour to avoid them exploding.

Good job with the tiles BTW

 

[IzzyTony]

Thanks again for the reply

I don't seem to be able to find any definitive answer regarding how close izzy should be able to get to his heat lamp, I get the feeling (having looked around on google that at 6-8") from his log, Izzies heat lamp is maybe too close to him? and may deter him from basking there? Should i increase it to maybe 10inches or even further away from his log?

Tony


BumP

 

[callum84]

Tony, distance from heat lamp depends on the wattage and type of bulb. Choose a bulb with enough power to give you the ambient temps you need. You then need to measure the surface temperature directly at his basking spot. Your looking for 110F. If its too cool you need to move lamp closer, and vice versa.
Take measurements a few times throughout the day to make sure it's always within range.

What temps are you getting and how are you measuring them?

 

[IzzyTony]

The temps are perfect, and measured with a digigutal thermometer, I just wanted to know if my bulb (42w household bulb) was too close to him, when he isnt on the basking log the distance from log to bulb is about 10 inches.