JayTheDragonTamer
Member
This is more of a question of curiosity than something I’m planning to put into action as of now. Firstly I want to apologize for creating another thread over full spectrum lighting. I couldn’t find an unlocked or more recent one.
So I remember a user saying that one option for providing a fuller spectrum light could be done with a metal halide bulb. As this was a while ago, I did some looking around to see if any reptile-specific ones had come out, as the only one I’d seen mentioned was the Iwasaki Eye ColourArc. (Awesome color spectrum by the way.. I wish I had this in my tank!) There is a couple out there that look promising.
Apparently general metal halides (used for large buildings, automobile headlights.. that sort of thing) produce dangerous wavelengths of uvb and occasionally uvc, and are prone to overheating. But in quality bulbs used for reptiles, this is usually not the case. (Uv guide has done testing on a couple specific ones and found them all to be safe)
However, being a powerful, potent bulb, I think that these lights need to be thoroughly researched before being put in any set up, even if they are reptile specific.
I also found that metal halides tend to have significant uvb decay compared to a good mvb or linear tube.
In fact, I haven’t really found any MH that I can say would be an adequate uvb source.
BUT what I have found is they have an incredible light output.
According to Wikipedia, (obviously not the most reliable source, but it makes a good comparison to other bulbs. I’m trying to point out just how they compare to standard lights)
“Metal-halide lamps have high luminous efficacy of around 75–100 lumens per watt, which is about twice that of mercury vapor lights and 3 to 5 times that of incandescent lights and produce an intense white light.”
At a safe distance to ensure you aren’t going to damage your reptiles eyes, I think this would really brighten up even a large enclosure. A lot of the time, basking lights and such don't provide anywhere near the quality or amount of light that would be found in the desert and semi arid areas of Australia, which is what many reptile keepers want to get closer to. In terms of Wild re-creation I think we overlook the importance of luminosity and providing a clean, full color spectrum.
Of course, no light that exists replicates anything close to natural light.
Annnyyywaaayyy, I’ve heard that metal halide bulbs produce a color spectrum pretty close to natural light. You can find out about that in the other threads, there’s some great spectrum diagrams comparing different sources of light to sunlight.
Reptile specific ones tend to be in the 5500k-6500k range and look light white daylight. However, unlike “daylight” bulbs (which can appear to be light sunlight to our eyes) metal halides have much less spikes in the color spectrum. Reptile vision can likely pick up on this color spikes, and I wonder if that distorts what they see.
Similar to MVBs, MHs put out a good source of UVA.
According to most reviews I’ve read, they generally don’t tend to achieve the sort of temps required for a bearded dragon, so an additional basking bulb or CHE would be necessary.
I was just wonder what everyone’s opinion is on metal halides. Would they be a good source of supplemental full spectrum lighting?
So I remember a user saying that one option for providing a fuller spectrum light could be done with a metal halide bulb. As this was a while ago, I did some looking around to see if any reptile-specific ones had come out, as the only one I’d seen mentioned was the Iwasaki Eye ColourArc. (Awesome color spectrum by the way.. I wish I had this in my tank!) There is a couple out there that look promising.
Apparently general metal halides (used for large buildings, automobile headlights.. that sort of thing) produce dangerous wavelengths of uvb and occasionally uvc, and are prone to overheating. But in quality bulbs used for reptiles, this is usually not the case. (Uv guide has done testing on a couple specific ones and found them all to be safe)
However, being a powerful, potent bulb, I think that these lights need to be thoroughly researched before being put in any set up, even if they are reptile specific.
I also found that metal halides tend to have significant uvb decay compared to a good mvb or linear tube.
In fact, I haven’t really found any MH that I can say would be an adequate uvb source.
BUT what I have found is they have an incredible light output.
According to Wikipedia, (obviously not the most reliable source, but it makes a good comparison to other bulbs. I’m trying to point out just how they compare to standard lights)
“Metal-halide lamps have high luminous efficacy of around 75–100 lumens per watt, which is about twice that of mercury vapor lights and 3 to 5 times that of incandescent lights and produce an intense white light.”
At a safe distance to ensure you aren’t going to damage your reptiles eyes, I think this would really brighten up even a large enclosure. A lot of the time, basking lights and such don't provide anywhere near the quality or amount of light that would be found in the desert and semi arid areas of Australia, which is what many reptile keepers want to get closer to. In terms of Wild re-creation I think we overlook the importance of luminosity and providing a clean, full color spectrum.
Of course, no light that exists replicates anything close to natural light.
Annnyyywaaayyy, I’ve heard that metal halide bulbs produce a color spectrum pretty close to natural light. You can find out about that in the other threads, there’s some great spectrum diagrams comparing different sources of light to sunlight.
Reptile specific ones tend to be in the 5500k-6500k range and look light white daylight. However, unlike “daylight” bulbs (which can appear to be light sunlight to our eyes) metal halides have much less spikes in the color spectrum. Reptile vision can likely pick up on this color spikes, and I wonder if that distorts what they see.
Similar to MVBs, MHs put out a good source of UVA.
According to most reviews I’ve read, they generally don’t tend to achieve the sort of temps required for a bearded dragon, so an additional basking bulb or CHE would be necessary.
I was just wonder what everyone’s opinion is on metal halides. Would they be a good source of supplemental full spectrum lighting?
