Best light for a height of 14 inches

oldmanlogan

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Jan 13, 2019
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Hello,

redoing my enclosure, looking to mount t5 or t8 hood around 14 inches. away from the floor of the enclosure. I have spent a decent amount of time looking around and have see quite a few mixed opinions across some forums.

I was thinking a t5 10.0 would work, but not 100% on that. or should i go with a t8 10.0?

i have a 8 year old Russian tort male
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hello,

redoing my enclosure, looking to mount t5 or t8 hood around 14 inches. away from the floor of the enclosure. I have spent a decent amount of time looking around and have see quite a few mixed opinions across some forums.

I was thinking a t5 10.0 would work, but not 100% on that. or should i go with a t8 10.0?

i have a 8 year old Russian tort male
Every enclosure, bulb, and fixture is a little different. Only a UV meter can answer your question with any certainty.

Here is my best guess: A regular T8 10.0 will give almost no UV at that distance. An Arcadia 12% T5 HO bulb will give too much UV at that height. The ZooMed T5 HO 10.0 will probably be about right at that distance, but make sure you have lots of shade and cover, and look for signs of too much UV like lethargy, hiding all the time, and sore eyes. If you see any of these, you may need to raise the bulb, or only run it for 3 hours mid day.

Guessing is not my favorite strategy. Invest in the correct UV meter. They cost $250, but in the long run it can save you a tremendous amount of stress, worry, uncertainty, and money on vet bills and premature replacement bulbs. This is the one: https://www.solarmeter.com/model65.html
 
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