i had previously posted about shipping large reptisuns ,the re-discovery of rex's 18'' fixture prompts me to ask, if affixed over the basking spot, would this be adequate uvb exposure in a 4 foot long cage? not blocked by screen etc and within the 6-8'' distance from back of animal-range? i ask because or the (relative) height of my 75 gallon, which is 18 inches, even if i purchased a longer lamp, would this not be futile because of the distance between the floor and lamp, save for one fairy high perch and his basking spot? light is easily supplemented, I'm concerned more for uv exposure. if i must, i will purchase a 36'' fixture, but still, I'm curious to hear the input. thanks for your time.
I currently have 2 mvbs 1 in each of my 40gal breeder tanks, i personally love them quite a bit and it saves me from having extra fixtures above my tank. My understanding on tubes is that you would want them to run the length of the tank, but even at that, the uvb only penetrates so far into the tank. I forget the exact distance but i think the reptisun 10 goes up to 24 inches. . . but at 24 inches i believe the uvb is rather weak.
also my dragons dont spend to much time on the cold side of their tank, which would be outside of the range for my mvb. I don't know just a matter of preference.
i definedly loved the mvbs, but they left me with little in the way of using the vertical space of the enclosure. i used (and am still using) the mega ray sb, however some changes i wish to make to the decor (more branches, remove rock and replace with fake rock i plan on fabricating) would make their safe operation rather difficult, given the required 12 inch distance.
i just spoke with Bob (reptileuv) and told me that you can use Megaray at an angle and it will not affect the performance of the bulb, the same as using it vertically.