Arcadia t5 ho 14%

smr1014

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HI! I purchased a 14% HO T5 UVB by Arcadia and put at 20" high from the substrate, do I run it all day? My I have a hermanns btw and will probably get another one for my baby leopard. Another questions is if I need to get another light running for UVA or the arcadia one should be enough, it says on the box that about having 30% UVA. Thank you for all your answers. New tort parents here btw, just wanted to give the best for my torts.
 

Tom

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HI! I purchased a 14% HO T5 UVB by Arcadia and put at 20" high from the substrate, do I run it all day? My I have a hermanns btw and will probably get another one for my baby leopard. Another questions is if I need to get another light running for UVA or the arcadia one should be enough, it says on the box that about having 30% UVA. Thank you for all your answers. New tort parents here btw, just wanted to give the best for my torts.
Hello and welcome

The 14% bulb is very strong and 20 inches might even be too close. You need a meter to know for sure. Solarmeter 6.5 is the one you need. With UV that strong, I would only run it for 2-3 hours mid day. The rest of the time you will need a basking lamp and some LEDs on a timer for ambient light.

Here is lighting and heating info:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
Most of the care info you find will be old and outdated. Here is the correct care info, and questions are welcome.
 

smr1014

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2022
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Crystal Lake, IL
Hello and welcome

The 14% bulb is very strong and 20 inches might even be too close. You need a meter to know for sure. Solarmeter 6.5 is the one you need. With UV that strong, I would only run it for 2-3 hours mid day. The rest of the time you will need a basking lamp and some LEDs on a timer for ambient light.

Here is lighting and heating info:
There are four elements to heating and lighting:
  1. Basking bulb. I use 65 watt incandescent floods from the hardware store. Some people will need bigger, or smaller wattage bulbs. Let your thermometer be your guide. I run them on a timer for about 12 hours and adjust the height to get the correct basking temp under them. I also like to use a flat rock of some sort directly under the bulb. You need to check the temp with a thermometer directly under the bulb and get it to around 95-100F (36-37C).
  2. Ambient heat maintenance. I use ceramic heating elements or radiant heat panels set on thermostats to maintain ambient above 80 degrees day and night for tropical species. In most cases you'd only need day heat for a temperate species like Testudo or DT, as long as your house stays above 60F (15-16C) at night.
  3. Ambient light. I use LEDs for this purpose. Something in the 5000-6500K color range will look the best. Most bulbs at the store are in the 2500K range and they look yellowish. Strip or screw-in LED bulb types are both fine.
  4. UV. If you can get your tortoise outside for an hour 2 or 3 times a week, you won't need indoor UV. In colder climates, get one of the newer HO type fluorescent tubes. Which type will depend on mounting height. 5.0 bulbs make almost no UV. I like the 12% HO bulbs from Arcadia. You need a meter to check this: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html A good UV bulb only needs to run for 2-3 hours mid day. You need the basking bulb and the ambient lighting to be on at least 12 hours a day.
Most of the care info you find will be old and outdated. Here is the correct care info, and questions are welcome.
Thank you, will modify my setup again soon. Just to clarify, the arcadia should give enough UVA/B for them and run it for 2-3hrs mid day. Then I will have to change my MVB bulbs then and just save it for the time being. Get a basking bulb and ambient lighting that I can run for 12hrs. Is ceramic heaters considered basking bulb, planning to get the Ceramic heater instead of those daylight bulb so I can run it at night if its too cold for them?
 

Lyn W

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Thank you, will modify my setup again soon. Just to clarify, the arcadia should give enough UVA/B for them and run it for 2-3hrs mid day. Then I will have to change my MVB bulbs then and just save it for the time being. Get a basking bulb and ambient lighting that I can run for 12hrs. Is ceramic heaters considered basking bulb, planning to get the Ceramic heater instead of those daylight bulb so I can run it at night if its too cold for them?
Some people use a CHE as a basking bulb but you will need lighting of some sort as well - as recommended by Tom.
You could use a flood basking bulb when the UVB tube is off and switch to CHE for night heat.
Whatever you decide, the CHE must be run through a thermostat to keep temps even and make sure it doesn't get too hot and cook your tort.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
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Is ceramic heaters considered basking bulb, planning to get the Ceramic heater instead of those daylight bulb so I can run it at night if its too cold for them?
See number 2 above. The CHE on a thermostat is a good way to maintain ambient temperatures day and night. The CHE does not replace the basking bulb, as the two bulbs do two totally different things.
 

smr1014

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2022
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
Crystal Lake, IL
Thank you!!!
Some people use a CHE as a basking bulb but you will need lighting of some sort as well - as recommended by Tom.
You could use a flood basking bulb when the UVB tube is off and switch to CHE for night heat.
Whatever you decide, the CHE must be run through a thermostat to keep temps even and make sure it doesn't get too hot and cook your tort.
Thank you!!!
 

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