bulb distances

[expiredgummiworm]

I have a 20 gallon tank with two small rf in them. im using cypress mulch as substrate.
i have a 60 watt ceramic heat emitter and a 26w 5.0 uvb

i have a mesh cover. would placing both bulbs at the mesh be alright. or should i have them closer or farther?

 

[jeffbens0n]

The distance is probably fine but you should consider the fact that the screen filters out alot of the UVB from the bulb. Are you able to hang the bulb inside the tank? And is it a coil or tube type bulb?

 

[expiredgummiworm]

its a coil type bulb. the tank humidity wont affect it? < thats what i was afraid of

 

[coreyc]

You need to take the coil bulb out get a different bub may be a MVB

 

[terryo]

I had a 40 gal tank with 1 RF, before I up-graded. I made a hole in the screen and put the heat emitter in the hole, on the other side I had a long 5.0 UVB fixture for a 10 gal tank. resting on the screen. I used a metal plate so that the fixture holding the heat emitter wouldn't fall through the hole.

 

[expiredgummiworm]

why is the coil bulb bad? ive been looking all over for those and cannot find any locally

 

[coreyc]

They hurt the eyes and can blind them from what I have heard I use MVB's

 

[Hustler]

Can anyone chime in on this? Im about to wire up 4 fixtures for the corckscrew 5.0 flourecents...... I didnt think they were any brighter than the T8's?

 

[expiredgummiworm]

turned out to be a very good question XD im glad im not the only one that didnt know about this.
has anyone else had or heard of an experience like this?

i work at a hardware store and we have the ceramic bases like the ones bought with the traditional clamp "reptile" lamps. i see that terryo is using a plastic base that can be found at any hardware store. so....theres nothing fancy about the "reptile" ones? i didnt think so. the only problem i can see with plastic ones is the threat of melting but i have ceramic ones at my store.
also, is there any benefit to having the (im not sure what they are called) lamp shade part to them? i could see how they could amplify lighting like a megaphone.

 

[Balboa]

Here's the deal on the Spirals. They had a bunch of a bad ones a few years ago that were potentially harmful. Ever since then everyone says chuck them, dangerous, etc. Supposedly the newer ones are fixed. I used one with no ill effects. There is some valid question about whether they provide anough UVB to worthwhile.

If you go to the following webpage you can read about the problem and how to identify corrected lamps.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-summary.htm#update23sept09

I suggest doing some research to decide. The entire website is a good read to learn how to properly provide UV. The downside is many pages are down and "waiting" for a long overdue update.

---

turned out to be a very good question XD im glad im not the only one that didnt know about this.
has anyone else had or heard of an experience like this?

i work at a hardware store and we have the ceramic bases like the ones bought with the traditional clamp "reptile" lamps. i see that terryo is using a plastic base that can be found at any hardware store. so....theres nothing fancy about the "reptile" ones? i didnt think so. the only problem i can see with plastic ones is the threat of melting but i have ceramic ones at my store.
also, is there any benefit to having the (im not sure what they are called) lamp shade part to them? i could see how they could amplify lighting like a megaphone.

I suggest always using ceramic base fixtures. The shade is only really useful when using a standard light bulb or to protect against heat contact.

One important note is that Ceramic Heat Emitters should not be used with the "shade" though they often are. They should have an open cage style protector. They overheat in normal "brooder" style fixtures.

 

[expiredgummiworm]

thanks. and whats the placement on the heat emitters? above the mesh top, on the mesh, or through the mesh like terryo's set up. or should i just see what temperatures i get and go from there? i found out how hot they get the hardway

 

[Balboa]

thanks. and whats the placement on the heat emitters? above the mesh top, on the mesh, or through the mesh like terryo's set up. or should i just see what temperatures i get and go from there? i found out how hot they get the hardway

That's the million dollar question these days and we just had an over-blown forum fiasco with some members arguing about how these things should be set (temp wise).

The tried and true method is to raise and lower the CHE/Lamp until you get the target temp you're looking for. For redfoots MY PERSONAL SUGGESTION (open to criticism from others) would be an ambient temp of 90 near the basking spot, the basking rock/tile should measure about 100 with a temp gun.

For the adventurous or anal (like me) a dimmer or thermostat can be wired in to allow temp control at a fixed height.

Hope some of this helps

 

[expiredgummiworm]

im not criticizing you whats so ever. im a noob thats just asking questions but ive heard heating rocks and tiles arent the best for tortoises. ive also heard that they could lead to burns

 

[Balboa]

I had to scratch my head a minute there....

When I referred to the basking rock/tile I meant the one placed under the lamp, not a "hot-rock". This is done to improve the efficiency of the basking spot.

As to the use of hot-rocks and under the belly heat that's a whole 'nother can of worms to debate. I haven't used a hot-rock in 30 years, but I have recently used an under tank heating pad to very good effect. (It was however thermostatically controlled).

 

[Hustler]

I use a big piece of slate under my heat lamps.... Keeps the heat away from the cypress mulch and it wont dry out as fast and they are always sitting on it so I know they dont mind it either.

 

[expiredgummiworm]

ooooh. i completely misunderstood you.
thats a really good idea. i am going to try that.
i love the heating pads.

 

[Yvonne G]

We just had a new person join the forum this week who was complaining that their baby sulcata was listless and not eating. Come to find out they were using the spiral bulb. This was a new bulb purchase. So unless the store still had old stock (which they were supposed to be recalled), the new bulbs aren't any better than the old ones.

 

[Balboa]

Was that determined to be the cause Yvonne?

 

[Hustler]

Im probably missing something.... But i was under the impression they are 6500k and 10,000k for the 5.0 and 10.0 And thats the exact same as the tubes.... In hydroponics the corkscrews work just the same as the T8's.... so what would be causing this problem? concentrated beam as its in a spot instead of the length of the tank?

 

[Balboa]

Originally they used incorrect phosphors that allowed for the excessive production of UVC. THey also came without any kind of placement instruction. As a result animals were frequently placed at risk.

Supposedly now, the phosphor blend is corrected, so as long as the lamp is installed per directions it should be safe, like any other UV lamp. Many people still claim they aren't working right.

Some precautions with UV lamps:

We don't want the animals looking directly at it. Keep it over head, directed down. Provide additional lighting placed nearby. This makes it "bright" enough the animal won't want to look at it (many of the early lamps were too dim, and the animals could look straight at them). Some of the linears I've seen are still too dim in my opinion. The CFL type I used was nice because it was very bright, very painful to look at, and this is a GOOD thing.

Any UV lamp can malfunction. If you really want to be safe, get meters, there's no other way to know what they're really putting out.