UVB wattage

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Libbya4949

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I am currently purchasing all the things needed for a new enclosure for my beardie that will be 8ft long 2ft wide.
I purchased a 4ft and a 2ft reptisun HO t5 10.0 bulb already so it will cover about 6ft out of the 8ft. These bulbs say 54watts on them. I never paid attention to the uvb wattage before. I just accidentally noticed that the fixture I bought says it is compatible with this bulb but the fixture says 25 watts…. ? ? umm… what??? I have read some stuff online, but it all just confused me more…
-there will be a mesh screen between. The beardie and the lights.
- highest basking spot = 12”
- lights will be about 12-18” from the basking spot.
- there will be 2ft of height inside the tank, with a light compartment on top. The mesh screen will separate the two areas.
Does anyone know what the proper UVB wattage should be for this size enclosure??? And if it higher then what I have, where would I find it? Maybe a link to the fixture n bulb needed?

Thank you!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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The wattage of the bulb correlates with the length, as far as I know. It also varies depending on the bulb standard (T5, T8, T12 etc). A 54W T5HO bulb should be 48'' in length. The 22'' bulb should be 24W. The fixture should be the appropriate size for the bulb and provide the correct wattage to power it.

I usually suggest using at least a 24'' fixture because that will be long enough to provide a beam that is as wide as the dragon's length, allowing for even basking. The bulb doesn't need to cover the whole tank, it's actually good to provide a gradient along with areas of shade/no UVB available. In larger enclosures, a larger bulb can be used to provide more UVB area - I just wouldn't run it along the entire enclosure unless you put it in the front or back in order to create a gradient along the depth of the enclosure.

If in doubt, you can pick up a kit that will have a matched pair of bulb and fixture. Arcadia makes excellent lighting and is available from a shop in Maine. This is a link to the 36'' T5 Arcadia 12% (with fixture). Different lengths are available. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-pro-t5-fixture-12-bulb-35-sale/
Since you have a lot of height available and mesh screen, you could probably go with the higher output 14% bulb https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-pro-t5-fixture-14-bulb-35-sale/

Moved by moderator from Advanced Discussion to Enclosures.
 

Libbya4949

New member
Original Poster
Thank you! Do you happen to know anything about waterfall pumps? I need to find one that will also filter the water because the water is going to fall into a swimming area… there is SO MANY different kinds of pumps and I have no idea which would be best… I made a post under “enclosures” category about it as well..
 
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