Hey everyone. Just thought I’d share this video by Todd at Light Your Reptiles about the Arcadia 12% and the amount of UVA/UVB through a screen and measured by a solar meter. It’s very informative.
Exactly the same hood kits show as I bought for my dragons and bluetongues , not used yet , plan to retire old homemade all timber (plywood) tanks with Connectit System based Plywood and acrylic sheeting tanks very shortly , as multibay setups rather than the stacked tanks.
Needed to give it about 15 minutes to warm up, these things take a while.
Arcadia bulbs are excellent. He is right that he should have given the bulb time to warm up but the readings are still in the same range. That's partly where I get my estimate of 12'' above the main basking area or 10'' through a mesh top. The one he's using for testing is a common top that I've also used for testing. The mesh on top of the Exo Terra tanks is a bit finer and intercepts more UVB so I've tested through that as well. That intercepts closer to 40-45%. There is a stronger bulb now available (the video is a bit outdated) but it should only be used in very tall enclosures and set at around 16-20'' or so above the main basking area. I still need to test these 14% bulbs myself though to get more data.
Arcadia bulbs are excellent. He is right that he should have given the bulb time to warm up but the readings are still in the same range. That's partly where I get my estimate of 12'' above the main basking area or 10'' through a mesh top. The one he's using for testing is a common top that I've also used for testing. The mesh on top of the Exo Terra tanks is a bit finer and intercepts more UVB so I've tested through that as well. That intercepts closer to 40-45%. There is a stronger bulb now available (the video is a bit outdated) but it should only be used in very tall enclosures and set at around 16-20'' or so above the main basking area. I still need to test these 14% bulbs myself though to get more data.
I just saw that he now has the 14% bulbs when I ordered my new one. I’ve not browsed his site lately, just ordered replacement bulbs for my 48” quad fixture. It would be very interesting to know the reading on the 14%. I know though that for most set ups that would be too strong.