Soon buying a 65 gallon tank and would really like some advi

[NickZafo]

Hey Everyone!,
This is my first post so I would like to first say hi to everyone here. And give my thanks in advance.

I own 2 dragons, Reptar and Apollo, and sad to say that they are cooped up in a 20L. I'm buying a 65 gallon within the next few days and have no idea what lighting I should get. I know I will need a basking lamp and a UVB bulb and something to heat them at night. However I don't know...

• -what size dome light to get or what wattage.
  -what kind of UVB bulb and what housing to put it in.

I have a feeling i'm going to use sand as a substrate but if anyone has a better idea please let me know.

I love pictures and links so send as many as you can.
I will be posting pictures of my babies soon

Thank you so much!,
-Nick

 

[iibrandyii]

Hiya back there NickZafo! I just wanted to let ya know that there is a dome light over at Petsmart that you might want to look into. Its a Deluxe Arizona HOT lamp with a dimmer switch (blue box with orange & red lines). I have 5 of these right now. They go up to (I think) 200 or 250 watts. I have the smaller one (75 watt) and 4 of the 8.5 (150 watt) domed ones. They run about $20 for the 8.5 ones. To me these are great because you can adjust the temps without trial and error with different wattaged bulbs. I just got a 150 watt flood light bulb and just adjust the dimmer to the correct temps I want. My house is usually pretty cold so this works the best for me. As for UVB, go with the reptisun 10.0, It has worked great with my 2 babies. Petmountain has the best deal so far. Substrate: do not use sand if their are babies. I went to Home Depo and got slate tile, it's easy to clean and keeps their nails trimmed, also you wont ever have to buy a substrate again. They usually have deals on slate tile and they will cut them for you for a small price. Measure you tank first then give the dimentions to who ever helps you there. Hope that helps, All this has worked for me but then again I am also a new owner but thats what I have learned so far.

 

[NickZafo]

thank you iibrandyii
there's just so much advice i cant take it!

i will defiantly look into everything you posted. the dimmer switch domes sound like a great idea.
and i will look into pet mountain for their uvb

i guess letting ever one know that they are both about a year old would help with the substrate question.
the slate sounds good because i hurd it retains heat much better than sand. and a nice wet paper towel cleans any sized poop.

so i have iibrandyii's 2 cents....anyone wana make it 4 cents? 8)