Unfortunate News regarding Solar Glo MVB

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ashesc212

Sub-Adult Member
Hi all,

I tested my 3-4 month old Solar Glo bulbs tonight that were supposed to be a replacement for the problematic T-Rex bulbs I had. I have the 6.2 version of the solar meter and I am unsure how to interpret these numbers (it's my first time using it). Can you help?

These were taken at 12":
Light 1: 79 uw/cm2
Light 2: 10 uw/cm2
Light 3: 82 uw/cm2
Light 4: 40 uw/cm2
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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Original Poster
Hello,

Thanks for posting your results on the Solar Glo. I should put my results up for our 1 Solar Glo light, but the other one was not doing so well on the neck of the light & it looked like it might break off in the dome light fixture so I did not test it.
You have 2 lights that are decent, 1 that is just "ok" & 1 that is basically worthless. That is horrible & very inconsistent. I cannot believe that they keep changing their specs.
Those numbers are basically telling you the "amount" of UVB that the lights are emitting simply expressed in microwatts per millimeter squared on your dragon.
While there are no "set" numbers to go by, in order to be considered an effective light, for a MVB those values are very poor. True sunlight in direct sun is roughly 200-350uW/cm2 which is very intense. A good number I believe to shoot for is at least 150uW/cm2 to help maintain their 25Hydroxy numbers in the positives.

So, you can continue to use light 1, 3, & even 4 but 1 & 3 obviously are the best. I would hesitate to tell you to move it closer because I don't know what the UV index is & plus it is a 125 watt light so you don't want to risk thermal burns either.

I hope that helps out a little bit.

Tracie
 

ashesc212

Sub-Adult Member
Drache613":7lubyl6s said:
Hello,

Thanks for posting your results on the Solar Glo. I should put my results up for our 1 Solar Glo light, but the other one was not doing so well on the neck of the light & it looked like it might break off in the dome light fixture so I did not test it.
You have 2 lights that are decent, 1 that is just "ok" & 1 that is basically worthless. That is horrible & very inconsistent. I cannot believe that they keep changing their specs.
Those numbers are basically telling you the "amount" of UVB that the lights are emitting simply expressed in microwatts per millimeter squared on your dragon.
While there are no "set" numbers to go by, in order to be considered an effective light, for a MVB those values are very poor. True sunlight in direct sun is roughly 200-350uW/cm2 which is very intense. A good number I believe to shoot for is at least 150uW/cm2 to help maintain their 25Hydroxy numbers in the positives.

So, you can continue to use light 1, 3, & even 4 but 1 & 3 obviously are the best. I would hesitate to tell you to move it closer because I don't know what the UV index is & plus it is a 125 watt light so you don't want to risk thermal burns either.

I hope that helps out a little bit.

Tracie

Thank you for your help. I just don't know what lights to purchase anymore! I am switching the two lizards with the bad lights back to Reptisuns 10.0 right now until I figure out what to do.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Hello,

I know exactly how you feel, it has been a horrible horrible year for lights. We basically have no options at all right now. It is very frustrating!

Tracie
 

Drache613

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Hello,

No, things have not been resolved yet, I hate to say.

Tracie
 
Hi I just bought a Solar Gol MVB 160W and the one thing i had notice is that the tank have a high level of humidity. Should I keep my Bulb,and how should I lower the humidity?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Hello,

Well, unfortunately, I don't know if you should keep your bulb or not. As I don't know what the UVB output is of that particular bulb. What is the distance from the bulb to your dragon? There are just really not too many choices of lights right now.
I don't think that the bulb is responsible for your increased humidity, at least I would think so anyway. Do you have a water dish/bowl in the tank currently?


Tracie
 

jacqui778

Sub-Adult Member
Tracie.... just to be clear.... the bulbs won't cause any harm, will they? I'm leaving for two weeks, leaving my beardies in my family's hands, but they don't know what type of lights to buy or anything and are pretty much clueless.... will one of my dragons be OK using the SolarGlo as a regular bulb until I get back? Of course, I'll get her proper UVB once I return (no wonder she's been showing symptoms of MBD :( ). The other already uses a ReptiSun.

Sorry if this question was asked before. I'm exhausted and didn't feel like reading through. :?

Jacqui
 
The bulb is a good 10 ins away from her basking area and atleast 16 ins away from the bottom of the tank. Yes I do have a water bowl in the tank, but it's far from the bulb.
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
sp1k3y2010":16ul7zrv said:
The bulb is a good 10 ins away from her basking area and atleast 16 ins away from the bottom of the tank. Yes I do have a water bowl in the tank, but it's far from the bulb.
With a 160 watt MVB, it should be at least 18"from the basking spot so actually 20" or a little more from your beardie while in the basking spot is what you want to shoot for. A distance of 10" is WAY too close, you need to move it further away ASAP before damage is done. What type of thermometer are you using and what are the temps?

Since your humidity is high, you should remove the water bowl from the tank to try to lower the humidity a little or he could get an upper respiratory infection.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Hello Jacqui,

No, the Solar Glos are safe, they just don't put out much UVB which is the main problem!
It isn't your fault. I am sorry you have had bad luck with lighting...I think that we all have lately in fact.
I hope your dragons are doing ok.
Have a good trip!

Tracie
 
I countered this issue by supplying a 15 watt daylight lamp which outputs UVB. Using this with my 125 watt Solar Glo 'just in case' I got a bad one. As soon as I find a 21cm ceramic lamp holder then I will grab a 120 watt MegaRay.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Original Poster
Hello,

You must be in the UK or overseas then? I would wait for just a bit longer on the Megaray, as they are trying to get their new bulbs out in the next couple of months.

Tracie
 
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