Please help with lighting

[Rramagge]

Hi I have ordered the zoo med Powersun 160watt

Do I need a reflector dome with a dimmer switch?
Because if I would need to get one separately anyway I might as well get the one that had it on the dome

Thanx
Rebecca

 

[Millerlite]

You can get one with a dimmer but from my experience its not good on the bulb it seemed to burn bulbs out faster. Thermostats work great instead of a dimmer. Also make sure it's a ceramic fixture

 

[Tom]

You cannot use a dimmer or a thermostat on a MVB. They are self-ballasted and those items will mess them up. Just use a large domed, ceramic based fixture and a timer. Adjust your heat by moving the whole fixture up or down, or by using a smaller wattage bulb.

 

[Rramagge]

Thank u,
have looked at so many dif ones now I can remember what size was said was ok for it I am looking at this but do u think its ok? Or if there r any other good ones but I can't get it from home depot

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Not sure why it uploaded 2 pics oops lol

 

[wellington]

I get mine from Home Depot. Just make sure you get the ceramic socket ones and the wattage is big enough for the wattage of the bulb. Also, like Tom said, you can not use dimmers or thermostats on the mvb. Get a timer and set to for on at 7 and off at 7 and your good.

 

[jaizei]

You can use thermostats with MVBs. You can't use proportional thermostats with MVBs. Using an on/off thermostat, you have to be careful with the swing setting because cycling on/off frequently can cause bulb failure. With MVBs, I've used thermostats mainly as kill switches to turn the bulb off if a certain temperature is exceeded.