UVB light over whole tank?

[jswjimmy]

We are looking to upgrade from our CFL style Reptisun 10.0. We currently have a 20G long tank and we don't plan to make the jump up to a 40 gallon for another 2-4 months. We have noticed that because of how tall the tank is that our dragon probably isn't getting enough UVB light so we wanted to upgrade to a T5 or T8 bulb.

Because the tank is only 24" wide a 24" housing (which is normally closer to 23") will just hardly fit inside and will mean that the entire tank will be hit by UVB light minus the hiding spots; is this ok?

When we do go up to a 40G will this fixture be too small? We could go with a smaller bulb but we would like to keep it when we upgrade the tank.

With others experience is it worth the extra cost and trouble to go with a T5? I can only get T5 bulbs online and it is nice to be able to just go to a store to get a replacement when needed.

 

[jswjimmy]

I've been reading into it a bit more and for price/performance I am considering a T5 without a reflector hung just below the mesh cover. While it is nice to be able to get things locally a T5 housing without reflector is the same price as the T8 alternative and I could upgrade it with a reflector if ever needed.

 

[Taterbug]

I really like the T5, I order mine from Amazon and haven't had a problem with damaged bulbs or anything, the 22" is a fine size even for larger ensures. I prefer to have a gradient from high uv at the basking spot to low/no UV in other areas on both the warm and cool side, so if you give shade and hides or what not it may be fine. If your housing has a hood that's good as well, they can be uncomfortably glaring if the light is just shining everywhere. Anyway, even without a reflector I would aim for 8-10" away, from the bulb. If you can keep that and still have your furnishings and heat bulb and everything...

It's going to be tricky in a 20 long and you may want to upgrade sooner than later.