Mesh top with hood

[Lubecki23]

Hey all, I'm gathering supplies for our future beardie and had a question. I have a 75 gal (24 inch high im pretty sure) tank and I would like to keep the uvb fixture on top of the lid. I was thinking of cutting about 2 inch rectangles out of the mesh down the length of the tube to allow uvb to penetrate more. Origionally I was planning on either the reptisun t5 10.0 ho with a hood (any recommendations with a reflector welcome) or the arcadia 12% ho 36" with the included hood. I was told that due to the height that I should just get the arcadia 14% and not bother with cutting the mesh but I dont think I've heard of anyone with the 14% and while reading up on it it seems very strong. I was going to get a branch or something similar that reached a bit higher up the tank to get within that sweet spot for uvb so I just wanted some other opinions. Thank you!

 

[ChristinaMike]

I have the T5 10.0 on top of my mesh (nothing cut out) as my research on here showed it was powerful enough to not lose a whole lot and I didn't have to get my baby super close to it for it to be effective. So far it is working fine lol

Before I got the T5 (I also got the hood with reflector on amazon), I had a T8 mounted inside which took some rigging lol

 

[charmander16]

Check out how I did mine, it works well: viewtopic.php?f=75&t=233838&sid=d53d8ee767715d4c84f1ac5b307b9604#p1809346

 

[Lubecki23]

Check out how I did mine, it works well: viewtopic.php?f=75&t=233838&sid=d53d8ee767715d4c84f1ac5b307b9604#p1809346

The mesh on yours is perfect! I would have to make a custom top for the tank though, which i probably could but i already have a lid so I was gonna try to make that one work

 

[charmander16]

You should be able to cut a rectangle like you plan, and then just use the same type of mesh I did over the hole.

 

[Lubecki23]

You should be able to cut a rectangle like you plan, and then just use the same type of mesh I did over the hole.

Omggg why didnt i think of that in the first place? thank you!