Been doing research on lighting and general questions I dont have and I saw a response from one of the veteran beardie parents saying it's best to not exceed 2/3 of your tank with uvb coverage but I thought it was at least 2/3... I got a 48" fixture for my 48" tank.. is this something I should fix?
Probably, but it doesn't necessarily mean replacing the whole shebang at once. You could cover 1/4 to 1/3 of it with an opaque "shield"--just be careful not to trap any heat in, as overheating might shorten the life of the bulb.
I agree---- you dont want the whole length of the tank w/ UVB-- he needs to be able to escape the rays if he wants to -- you dont want him hiding from it
Karrie
Probably, but it doesn't necessarily mean replacing the whole shebang at once. You could cover 1/4 to 1/3 of it with an opaque "shield"--just be careful not to trap any heat in, as overheating might shorten the life of the bulb.
I agree---- you dont want the whole length of the tank w/ UVB-- he needs to be able to escape the rays if he wants to -- you dont want him hiding from it
Karrie
My tanks 18" tall and I have a t5 10.0 on top of the screen top. Do you think maybe by the time it reaches the bottom of the tank its diluted enough anyways or not a chance?
I use a 22" in my 4x2x2s. It was the only size that allowed there to be some area in the tank with a uvi level of 0. And even then, it was only in the last 3 or 4 inches of the tank.
You want a gradient with uv just like you want with heat. And you want your dragon to have places where it can escape the uv rays if it so chooses.
I choose to create a gradient down to 0 instead of relying on hides as I dont like the idea of making my dragons hide if they want to escape exposure. They can simply move to the other end and still enjoy being out and about in their tanks.
Getting a shorter bulb has no effect at all on your basking level uv exposure, only a difference on the rest of your tanks levels.