enclosure height for baby sully

[Chris12]

Hello...I am preparing to build my first enclosure. I want to make it 2' high, but started to wonder if this would be enough after adding substrate? W/ 4-6" of substrate, would the remaining 18-20" be enough distance to appropriately hang the lights from above. Does anyone have a boxed enclosure that is 2' high that could share their light / wattage setup? or should i consider making it a bit taller?
Also, if the reptisun 10.0 needs to be no more than 12" away to be effective, do those w/ taller enclosures prefer to use the mercury vapor bulbs?
Appreciate any advice....thanks!!

 

[Tom]

Mine are all 24" tall. I use 65 watt flood bulbs and that height accommodates them in hanging fixtures with no problem. I use 100 watt CHEs too. I have to hang my florescent bulbs with chain down to the correct heights and use a UV meter to measure the UV output. MVBs run too hot for my 4x8' enclosures and will over heat them in the summer months.

Congrats on the new closed chamber. You will love it and wonder why everyone isn't using them.

 

[Chris12]

Mine are all 24" tall. I use 65 watt flood bulbs and that height accommodates them in hanging fixtures with no problem. I use 100 watt CHEs too. I have to hang my florescent bulbs with chain down to the correct heights and use a UV meter to measure the UV output. MVBs run too hot for my 4x8' enclosures and will over heat them in the summer months.

Congrats on the new closed chamber. You will love it and wonder why everyone isn't using them.

Thanks Tom!! I picked up the 65 watt bulbs per your advice / reply to one of my other threads. Although I stood in front of the bulb section at Lowes for 10 mins trying to figure out which ones to get, i rolled the dice and went w/ the BR30"s. are these the right ones? Also, I couldn't find those 11" dome fixtures at Lowes or HD, the only ceramics I could find were at pet smart so I got a few 5.5" "All Living Things" 100 watt max deep dome fixtures, but have not used it yet. Will this do the job w/ the flood lights and / or my 100 watt CHE? or could you send me a link to these elusive 11" ceramic dome fixtures.
In the meantime, I want ditch my black light and try out the CHE...can i use the CHE in my double dome fixture? Appreciate all of your guidance... thanks

 

[Tom]

I googled BR30 and it looks like a flood bulb to me. If it says "flood" on the package, you should be fine.

I don't like deep domes and I think 5.5" is too small of a dome too. This might concentrate too much heat on too small of an area and will give you different results than what I'm getting. I would not use a 100 watt CHE in a 100 watt max fixture. That is cutting it too close for a bulb that might be on all night, and CHEs make more heat than the equivalent incandescent bulbs that the fixture is rated for.

This is the HD one I talk about: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Designers-Edge-10-1-2-in-Brooder-Lamp-with-Hang-Hook-0165/204667675

Its got a long heavy duty cord, ceramic base, and a wide dome. I remove the little protective wires under the dome. You can order them online if your local store isn't stocking them. My Lowes does not have this, but my HD always does. Sometimes the employees don't know where they are.

 

[Chris12]

Cool...Thanks!! One last question...do you use any sort of sealer on the inside of your enclosures? I was going to use birch plywood and just a shower curtain for the base, but not sure if i should be concerned about mold or mildew on the walls... seems like the forum is kinda undecided on this..
Also, thanks for the orchid bark advice too...my lil guy loves it and always favors it over the coco coir and the sphagnum moss

 

[Tom]

Cool...Thanks!! One last question...do you use any sort of sealer on the inside of your enclosures? I was going to use birch plywood and just a shower curtain for the base, but not sure if i should be concerned about mold or mildew on the walls... seems like the forum is kinda undecided on this..
Also, thanks for the orchid bark advice too...my lil guy loves it and always favors it over the coco coir and the sphagnum moss

In the past I've used plastic liner and that works, but recently I used Drylok and that looks a little nicer and so far its working. I just use plywood and 2x4s. I've not had any problems with mold or mildew.