New 75 Gal. Setup lighting question

[Todde49]

Hi I am new to dragons. I am setting up a new 75 Gal. Tetra delux tank. I live in NY the tank will be in my basement it’s cool there all year round. I do not have my dragon yet. I currently have a Zoo Med Power Sun 160 watt in a zoo med deep dome. I also have a zoo Med Ceramic infrared 150 watt also in a deep dome which will be running 24X7. My question is can I also run a T5 10.0 during the day for more even lighting across the tank and what length fixture should I use. The tank is 48 inches long and 21 inches high and 18 inches wide. The domes will sit on the mesh top. My tank is currently at a shop getting a custom 3D 3 sided background. I have not run my setup yet so I do not know the temps yet. I want to make sure there is enough uvb and also want the whole tank lit not just the hot side. Thanks for any help.

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

This may help a bit with the lighting, currently on my juveniles 75 gallon she has a 46" reptisun t5 HO 10.0 that gets replaced every 6 months and then a 75 watt halogen bulb. However once all my tanks are setup i'll be switching her heat lamp to a Megaray MVB which is one of the best from what i hear and for my tegu she seems to prefer basking under it compared to the Exo Terra SolarGlo MVB.

I definitely recommend getting a tube light to go next to the MVB. Since the MVB is only on the basking spot it wouldn't supply uvb throughout the rest of the tank which isnt the best.

 

[Todde49]

Thanks so much should the t5 extend the full length so 48 inch and what wattage should it be?

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

I'd say yes, some people say no because its good to have a spot where they can get away from it or just have low levels of uvb in some parts of the enclosure however i'd go with yes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AQU8HRM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I usually buy this bulb, and i believe its 54 watts. However it really doesnt produce much heat. When my juvenile was in a 20 gallon the same wattage and bulb it only raised the temps up by 5-10 for the cool side.

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm in the other camp (to an extent). I like to provide an area of intense UVB that goes along with high heat in the basking site that is a little bit wider than the length of an adult to allow even basking. 22'' (24'' fixture) usually does the trick in most cases. A 36'' might be a good choice in this enclosure. If you have extra space I'd provide a second basking area that is heat with no UVB. Then there is space for areas with cooler temps and less UVB. That gives them plenty of options to choose from. They are quite good at self regulating. If you do go with the longer UVB tube, I advise setting up plenty of areas that have shade to reduce UVB exposure if desired.