so i recently built a 4X2X2 for my little guy. its made out of melamine. i am having a hard time with basking spot. i have used several different bulbs to try and achieve a good temp for him... a 45w indoor flood bulb only gets the heat close to 90 degrees. a 65w bulb gets me just over 90 degrees. i switched over to halogen bulbs. a 90w takes this thing way out to 140 and possibly beyond. once i saw the readint that it was at 140 i turned it off... a 75w halogen, which the box says its a 53w=75w bulb gets me around 120-128. so, i switched it over to a 50w halogen (39w=50w). this gets me to 100-104 with the basking spot raised. the problem is, im not sure which reading to really believe... in this guys normal 20 gal tank, the probe and my pointer give an almost exact reading... it may be off by like 2 or 3 degrees from each other. but this is crazy.... with the 50w (39w=50w halogen) my probe says its at 102, and right before i turned it off it had just switched over to 103. but the pointer shows 86 degrees....
i would LOVE to use the 65w flood bulb because the light is white and puts out i believe PAR38. this halogen has more of a yellow tent and is at PAR20. everything i have read, including the "lighting for newbies" on the forum, states that with a wood enclosure that a 30-45w bulb should be plenty... please help me with this.... its so frustrating!!! and im ready to get the little guy out of that aweful 20 gal asap!
i would LOVE to use the 65w flood bulb because the light is white and puts out i believe PAR38. this halogen has more of a yellow tent and is at PAR20. everything i have read, including the "lighting for newbies" on the forum, states that with a wood enclosure that a 30-45w bulb should be plenty... please help me with this.... its so frustrating!!! and im ready to get the little guy out of that aweful 20 gal asap!