T8 vs T5?

[lele]

Hi,
Getting a new beardie and will be using all of Darwin's stuff. However, his strip light went on the fritz and try as I might, I have been unable to fix it. It is for T5 bulb, I always used ReptiSun 10.0 (he was in 75gal).

I moved my plants into his tank and bought a regular shop light which holds 2 T8 florescent (have plant lights in there now). I did not want to go to the expense of buying a new fixture yet for tank so was going to buy the Reptisun 10.0 T8 and since it is a 2 bulb fixture (needs 2 to work) I would keep a plant light in.

I remember when the T5 came out and seems we all switched but can I get a refresher on just how much of a difference there really is? The difference in the fixture price is about $15 on LLL, which is usually where I buy my supplies.

Thanks,
lele

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Well from my knowledge the T5 is a lot stronger than the T8, a T5 5.0 is basically a T8 10.0 or close to it in strength.

On top of a mesh screen a T8 10.0 can't provide enough UVB to benefit the dragon entirely because of how much UVB is blocked, which means it has to be mounted inside at about 6-8 inches away from the basking spot. T8's also seem to go faster so they need to be replaced in 6 months rather than the 12 months the T5's usually have.

So basically,
T8 10.0's have to be mounted inside.
Cant use T8 5.0's even inside as they are far too weak.
T5 5.0's have to be mounted inside.
T5 10.0/12%/14% bulbs can all be mounted on top of the screen as they are stronger.
The bulbs that are 10%, 12% or 14% may have to be mounted inside depending on enclosure height and basking spot height.

 

[lele]

Thanks for the prompt, succinct reply. I never used a cover for Darwin, but I think I will have to with this guy

I'll try again to fix my light strip (or spring for a new one) and continue to use the T5.

Thanks!

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah the T5 is much more powerful and produces UVB levels closer to natural sunlight. The T8 is older and while sufficient if it's mounted at an appropriate distance (6-8'' when using a reflector) it is still unable to reach mid day levels of UVB exposure which they enjoy at different times throughout the day. It's still good to provide a gradient of temperature and UVB across the tank so they can move about and get what they want at any given time though.

For more info about UVB output from different lighting configurations, I suggest looking through the guide Taterbug put together. https://sites.google.com/site/thelizardmadness/lighting-guides