Looking for fixture to mount 4' Reptisun bulb in

[Donna Albu]

I bought a 4 ft Repti-Sun UVB fluorescent bulb for my indoor enclosure, thinking I could find a suitable fixture easily. Seems as I was mistaken. They all seem to be LED equipped, and do not accommodate the standard bulb. I need to be able to plug it in, and hang it from the side of the plexiglass enclosure. Any ideas as to where I can find one? I've tried Home Depot, Lowe's, Amazon & Ace. No luck.

You'd think in Arizona that we have plenty of sunshine. That we have, but the temperatures are the problem. This week we are getting 80 deg weather - up from last week in the low 70's. By the end of the week we will be in the low 60's, so too cold for my 5 month old sulcata baby. Soon it will warm up for "spring", but spring is short lived around here, and then we will spend month's being in 100 + temps. Too hot, and with super low humidity. So I'm a bit frantic. Fancy will be mostly inside for at least a year and a half before she'll (I hope) be able to move outside permanently. Plus, she'll need her own enclosure built out near the others in the meantime for when she's ready.

 

[Markw84]

First, you must be sure of the size of bulb. T8, T5 or T5 HO. You must get a fixture to match the type of bulb you have. If you just bought it and it is Repti-Sun, check to see if it is a T5 HO. If so,,,

T5 HO fixture:

T5 Single Bulb Light Strip - 48"

 

[Donna Albu]

First, you must be sure of the size of bulb. T8, T5 or T5 HO. You must get a fixture to match the type of bulb you have. If you just bought it and it is Repti-Sun, check to see if it is a T5 HO. If so,,,

T5 HO fixture:

T5 Single Bulb Light Strip - 48"

It is a Reptisun 10.0 UVB. The 10 allows for a distance of up to 20 inches. The container is 16" deep. The fixture would be right at the top and immediately under the cover. I got the bulb from LLL Reptile.

 

[Markw84]

It is a Reptisun 10.0 UVB. The 10 allows for a distance of up to 20 inches. The container is 16" deep. The fixture would be right at the top and immediately under the cover. I got the bulb from LLL Reptile.

Reptisun comes in a T8 10.0 and a T5 HO 10.0. Which do you have? The fixture must be the same as the bulb. T8 or T5 HO.

 

[Donna Albu]

Reptisun comes in a T8 10.0 and a T5 HO 10.0. Which do you have? The fixture must be the same as the bulb. T8 or T5 HO.

The box says "48" 1219 mm 32 watts T8", "REPTISUN 10.0 UVB", and with the following notes:
INSTRUCTIONS: For best results, use in a fixture with an Electronic Ballast. Electronic ballasts use less energy and eliminate the "flicker" commonly associated with fluorescent lamps. This lamp may not operate properly in a fixture with a magnetic ballast.

2. LAMP DISTANCE: This lamp emits beneficial UVB up to 20 inches from the surface of the bulb. Glass and plastic filter out UVB, there should be no glass or plastic between the lamp and your reptile. Fine mesh blocks up to 50% of light and UVB. This should be taken into consideration when determining lamp distance.

It also says it is THE #1 fluorescent UVB reptile lamp worldwide.

No where does it say to use a particular fixture. Hope this helps.

 

[Markw84]

The box says "48" 1219 mm 32 watts T8", "REPTISUN 10.0 UVB", and with the following notes:
INSTRUCTIONS: For best results, use in a fixture with an Electronic Ballast. Electronic ballasts use less energy and eliminate the "flicker" commonly associated with fluorescent lamps. This lamp may not operate properly in a fixture with a magnetic ballast.

2. LAMP DISTANCE: This lamp emits beneficial UVB up to 20 inches from the surface of the bulb. Glass and plastic filter out UVB, there should be no glass or plastic between the lamp and your reptile. Fine mesh blocks up to 50% of light and UVB. This should be taken into consideration when determining lamp distance.

It also says it is THE #1 fluorescent UVB reptile lamp worldwide.

No where does it say to use a particular fixture. Hope this helps.

Great! It says T8. That is the size of the bulb. You need a standard T8 fixture. Home depot, Lowes, etc all carry standard T8 32 watt fixtures. Just look for T8, 4 foot, and 32 watts.

The t8 bulbs don't put out as much UVB as the T5 HO. And they type of reflective hood, or lack of hood greatly changes the UV level and distance it should be mounted. So buying the bulb and then buying a fixture that didn't come with that bulb will mean you really will have no idea of how high to have the fixture without a Solarmeter 6.5 to check the UV level and be able to adjust the height.

 

[Donna Albu]

Great! It says T8. That is the size of the bulb. You need a standard T8 fixture. Home depot, Lowes, etc all carry standard T8 32 watt fixtures. Just look for T8, 4 foot, and 32 watts.

The t8 bulbs don't put out as much UVB as the T5 HO. And they type of reflective hood, or lack of hood greatly changes the UV level and distance it should be mounted. So buying the bulb and then buying a fixture that didn't come with that bulb will mean you really will have no idea of how high to have the fixture without a Solarmeter 6.5 to check the UV level and be able to adjust the height.

Neither Lowe's nor Home Depot have the single bulb fixtures available, not in the store nor are they available to be ordered over the internet. I ordered 2 different fixtures off of Amazon, and both ended up being wrong. Maybe I should take the T8 back and get a T5 instead? There is a LLL Reptile somewhere in Phoenix, I just have to figure out how far away from me it is.