MASSIVE BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!! suggest you all read

[Venutus1]

I have T8 fixtures in my enclosures w/ Reptisun 10.0 36" long 25 watt bulbs. Is there an Arcadia 12% bulb that will work in those fixtures? If not, I'm sticking with the Reptisun. Those slimline fixtures weren't cheap!

Hi Ladyjustice33,

You could use the Arcadia T-8 12% if you wanted in that fixture. But they were backordered this time around, however ... they may come in next months shipment from the UK.
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/d3rela36fall.html

Thanks!
Todd

 

[ladyjustice33]

Thank you Todd!!!

 

[diamc]

I just got off the phone with Todd at http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ I'm so excited, I have a T5 bulb and HO fixture on the way. What a great guy, so easy to talk to and very informative. Thanks Todd, it was a real pleasure doing business with you.

 

[Venutus1]

I just got off the phone with Todd at http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ I'm so excited, I have a T5 bulb and HO fixture on the way. What a great guy, so easy to talk to and very informative. Thanks Todd, it was a real pleasure doing business with you.

It was great talking to you too diamc!

And I must say, you educated me on all things Beardie!

I learned allot in talking with you, I am so glad we spoke!

Thank you for your order too.

You have officially joined the Arcadia T5 Revolution!

Sincerely,
Todd
[email protected]

 

[japcarsBrett]

Hi these are what i have in my tank are they ok? Cheers. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcadia-D...rs_Insects&hash=item2a156042f6#ht_500wt_1054/

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Arcadia-E...rs_Insects&hash=item27bfb8253e#ht_500wt_1054/

 

[ChrisMiller]

Surprised to hear people talking about going with a "Better" UVB bulb, but then setting it on top of a screen????? :roll:

Would love to see those pics and tests, Todd. Let us know what you found!

Thanks

 

[diamc]

Chris, the T5 bulbs are a LOT stronger than the Repti-Sun's, that's why they can be on top of a screen. In fact, prior to the T5, I always used the Repti-Sun and had it in the tanks at the 6 to 8" distance but had to get the 6% bulb instead of the 12% as those need to be at least a foot away. I discussed all of this with Todd and that's the bulb he recommended. Even on top of the screen and about 8" away, I'm getting a reading of between 5.5 and 6.0 through the screen using a Solar Meter 6.5. As the UVI diminishes, I will be able to move it inside of the tank so this bulb will last a long time, perhaps even 2 yrs if not more.

 

[YBS0502]

i have a t5 ho 46" bulb 54 watts and with solar meter 6.2 at 8"i get a reading of 99 at 14" 69 the light is inside her viv with no reflector

 

[ChrisMiller]

Chris, the T5 bulbs are a LOT stronger than the Repti-Sun's, that's why they can be on top of a screen. In fact, prior to the T5, I always used the Repti-Sun and had it in the tanks at the 6 to 8" distance but had to get the 6% bulb instead of the 12% as those need to be at least a foot away. I discussed all of this with Todd and that's the bulb he recommended. Even on top of the screen and about 8" away, I'm getting a reading of between 5.5 and 6.0 through the screen using a Solar Meter 6.5. As the UVI diminishes, I will be able to move it inside of the tank so this bulb will last a long time, perhaps even 2 yrs if not more.

I gotcha.... but what about the typical dragon viv then which is completely enclosed? Would mounting one of these inside an enclosure that is only 2' high be a problem? Wouldn't that be putting out too much UVB for a dragon? Then what about if you've already got a light mounted 1/2 way down that 2' high enclosure because you're running a reptisun? Would that not be WAY too much UVB for your dragon?

I guess I just feel like there is more to this topic than what's being discussed. I am interested... but just want the best for my little guys like all of you do.

 

[YBS0502]

the way i have my light mounted inside her viv which is at the top distance from floor to light is 21 inches you also want an area of no uvb or an shaded area hope this helps

 

[lilacdragon]

Hi, Chris....

I gotcha.... but what about the typical dragon viv then which is completely enclosed? Would mounting one of these inside an enclosure that is only 2' high be a problem? Wouldn't that be putting out too much UVB for a dragon? Then what about if you've already got a light mounted 1/2 way down that 2' high enclosure because you're running a reptisun? Would that not be WAY too much UVB for your dragon?

The T5 HO (High-Output) tubes we're describing will not fit in existing fixtures for standard 1" diameter tubes like ZooMed Reptisun 10.0s (these are called T8 tubes). T5s are much thinner, come in slightly different lengths and have little narrow pins. You need to buy "T5 HO" electronic fixtures, to run them.
Because they are so much higher output, you can mount them higher - with a 2ft high tank, it's neat to fix them to the ceiling so they can go right above the basking zone.

The output also depends on whether you have an aluminum reflector with your fixture, as this boosts the UVB up to three times greater (because it reflects "wasted" UV that was going up into the ceiling, down onto the basking zone.) So if the UV is too strong with a reflector... take the reflector off, and it will be much less.

I reckon the ideal way to set this up with a 2ft vivarium, if you have a UV meter, is to fix the tube to the ceiling (or if it has a mesh roof, you don't have much option but to rest it on top of the mesh) at the same end of the viv as the basking zone, right next to the basking lamp. Then using the meter held underneath, inside the viv, work out how high you need his basking log/rock/shelf to be, so that he can climb up, to get his head and shoulders into the UVI 3 - 6 range (Solarmeter 6.5) or total UVB approx 90 - 180 uW/cm2 (Solarmeter 6.2) - those are the typical readings I am looking for with the Arcadia D3 and D3+ series of tubes, for the basking zone.
Then of course you need to adjust the height/wattage of the basking lamp to give the normal 100 - 105F basking temperature in the basking zone. NB: the T5 emits more heat than a regular tube, too, so this will add to the basking zone temperature as well. Not a lot - but in an enclosed area the extra warm air it generates can be significant.

Best wishes
Frances
And yes, YBS0502 mentions something else very important, he must have a shaded area of little or no UVB, as well... ideally, away from the basking zone.

 

[ChrisMiller]

Hi, Chris....

The T5 HO (High-Output) tubes we're describing will not fit in existing fixtures for standard 1" diameter tubes like ZooMed Reptisun 10.0s (these are called T8 tubes). T5s are much thinner, come in slightly different lengths and have little narrow pins. You need to buy "T5 HO" electronic fixtures, to run them.
Because they are so much higher output, you can mount them higher - with a 2ft high tank, it's neat to fix them to the ceiling so they can go right above the basking zone.

The output also depends on whether you have an aluminum reflector with your fixture, as this boosts the UVB up to three times greater (because it reflects "wasted" UV that was going up into the ceiling, down onto the basking zone.) So if the UV is too strong with a reflector... take the reflector off, and it will be much less.

I reckon the ideal way to set this up with a 2ft vivarium, if you have a UV meter, is to fix the tube to the ceiling (or if it has a mesh roof, you don't have much option but to rest it on top of the mesh) at the same end of the viv as the basking zone, right next to the basking lamp. Then using the meter held underneath, inside the viv, work out how high you need his basking log/rock/shelf to be, so that he can climb up, to get his head and shoulders into the UVI 3 - 6 range (Solarmeter 6.5) or total UVB approx 90 - 180 uW/cm2 (Solarmeter 6.2) - those are the typical readings I am looking for with the Arcadia D3 and D3+ series of tubes, for the basking zone.
Then of course you need to adjust the height/wattage of the basking lamp to give the normal 100 - 105F basking temperature in the basking zone. NB: the T5 emits more heat than a regular tube, too, so this will add to the basking zone temperature as well. Not a lot - but in an enclosed area the extra warm air it generates can be significant.

Best wishes
Frances
And yes, YBS0502 mentions something else very important, he must have a shaded area of little or no UVB, as well... ideally, away from the basking zone.

Thanks a lot for the information! My Solarmeter 6.2 came in today so I decided to do some testing on my 4 brand new Reptisun 10.0's (24 inch) that have been in service for only 2 weeks now.

These bulbs CLAIM 51cm at 20" and I haven't found that on ANY of these bulbs. In fact, I did not reach 51cm until I was within 6 inches of any of these 4 bulbs....

In addition, I do not get into the 90-180cm range that you speak of until I was within 3-4 inches of the center of the Reptisun 10.0!!! Everyone swears by reptisun, and I rarely see a viv pic where the owner has got the basking spot within 3-4 inches of the bulb.

Is this what you have found as well? When running these reptisuns do we really need to let them get within 3-4 inches???? I am going to be doing some more adjusting tomorrow and thinking seriously about these Arcadia bulbs.

 

[lilacdragon]

Hi, Chris.

These bulbs CLAIM 51cm at 20" and I haven't found that on ANY of these bulbs. In fact, I did not reach 51cm until I was within 6 inches of any of these 4 bulbs....
In addition, I do not get into the 90-180cm range that you speak of until I was within 3-4 inches of the center of the Reptisun 10.0!!! Everyone swears by reptisun, and I rarely see a viv pic where the owner has got the basking spot within 3-4 inches of the bulb.
Is this what you have found as well?

Hmm. I just got out a brand new Reptisun 10.0 box (I'm testing one right now, by coincidence) and I'm afraid you've misread it. It says:
"This lamp emits beneficial UVB up to 51cm (20 inches) from the surface of the bulb."
51cm is the same as 20 inches. What it's trying to say is that you can get useable UVB as far as 51cm away from the tube.
The units for UVB measurement are microwatts per square centimetre. This is usually written µW/cm² -or if the keyboard can't make the µ sign or the ², it can be written uW/cm2.
So, your readings at 6in were about 51 µW/cm², and at 4in, were about 90 µW/cm² ?

I just looked at my Solarmeter 6.2 (and 6.5 readings) for the last Reptisun 10.0 tube I tested (an 18W, 2ft T8 tube, about 6 months ago) and after 10 days use (105 hours - that's how long I "burn them in" before testing) I was getting:
Distance:
2in....... 136 µW/cm² UVI 4.3
4in....... 76 µW/cm² UVI 2.4
6in....... 52 µW/cm² UVI 1.7
8in....... 38 µW/cm² UVI 1.2
10in....... 29 µW/cm² UVI 0.9
12in....... 23 µW/cm² UVI 0.7
and
20in....... 11 µW/cm² UVI 0.3

Now, these measurements match yours pretty much exactly, so I reckon your tubes are fine.

OK.... don't panic. Folks certainly don't need to move their dragons to within 3-4 inches of their Reptisun 10s.
I always advise people to fit reflectors to their original T8-size (1" diameter) tubes if they possibly can, since this can effectively double the UVB beneath - so your readings could, with a good reflector, go up to, say, 55 - 58 µW/cm² at 10 inches (about UV Index 2.0).
But when you supply UVB to a reptile, there are basically two ways of doing it.
Either you use what I call the "Sunbeam Method", or the "Shade Method".
I've described this in detail on this forum before, have a look here:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=121986&p=1158024#p1158024
(Thread: MegaRay Issues)
and
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=160219&start=30#p1292285
(Thread: I Found Arcadias)

If you are using old-style T8 Fluorescent tubes like T8 ZooMed Reptisun 10.0s or T8 Arcadia D3+ 12%UVB tubes, you need to use the Shade Method. The idea is to cover at least 2/3rds of the viv with the levels that beardies get naturally in light shade.
If you are using UVB mercury vapour lamps, metal halides or the new T5 Arcadia tubes, then you can use the Sunbeam Method. The idea is to cover just the basking area with the levels that beardies get in full sunlight.
Over the course of a day, the "Shade Method" beardie gets a lower level of UVB for a long period (both when he is and isn't actually basking)
But the "Sunbeam Method" beardie gets a higher level of UVB for a shorter period (just when he's basking).
In theory, both beardies should get the same sort of amount over a 12-hour day - the same "dose" if you like.
Does that make sense?

So there is absolutely nothing wrong with using the older-style Reptisun 10.0s at 8-10" distance; much better if they are fitted with a reflector; but they do need to cover 2/3rds to 3/4 of the living area.

However, the T5 tubes, being a much stronger UVB source, can be used at similar sorts of distances -as we've talked about in earlier posts in this thread - but they should only be positioned up beside the heat lamp, so their stronger UVB is adding to the "patch of sunlight" and not covering much more of the living area that that.

But....at 51cm - or 20 inches - it is debatable whether a ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 that is not fitted with a reflector is emitting "beneficial UVB". 11 µW/cm² (UVI 0.3) is probably beneficial to a nocturnal gecko or deep shade-dweller. So it's not actually untrue. But personally I don't think it would be of any benefit to a bearded dragon.

All the best
Frances

 

[Xeyla]

I just want to thank everyone here for all the information about this lamp. I just purchased the 22" fixture w/12% bulb, because my old fixture will not work with the new bulb, and I cannot wait to get it. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[diamc]

Great that you have the Arcadia bulb on its way. You made a great choice. If you got the T5, make sure it is no closer than 12" though as Todd recommends. Let us know how your beardie likes it.