PVC 8x2x2 lighting placement

[GardiendeKoopa]

Hi, how should lights be placed in an 8x2x2 PVC enclosure with a solid top for a hatchling to ~3 year old Eastern Hermann’s tortoise? I was thinking of 1 Arcadia Ceramic Pro Lampholder with the protective cage and a 65W incandescent BR30 flood lamp mounted on the interior on the left top, maybe 6” from the back and side walls to not heat them too much, and an Arcadia Pro T5 LumenIZE 12% beside it. The LumenIZE can be dimmed to adjust the UV if it’s too high, there will be at least 15” to 18” from tube to top of shell depending on how much substrate is in the basking area and how thick the basking stone is. I was thinking of having the basking area be a bit lower in substrate depth than the rest of the enclosure to provide more distance to bulbs, with deeper substrate near the hides for burrowing. I was thinking 1 hide on the far right and 1 around the middle, to offer 2 temperature options. How much distance should the T5 fixture be away from the floodlight to not be damaged by its heat? Should the basking light be more centre left, or back corner left, or front corner left? Ambient room temperature will be 20 to 21C overnight and 23 to 25C during the day. I don’t have the tortoise or the enclosure yet, just trying to plan in advance. Also, how much ambient lighting LED should I use if the UV is only on for 4 to 6 hours in the middle of the day to mirror peak solar UV? I will eventually have room for an 8x4 or larger indoors after some home renovations, but right now an 8x2 fits better and the tortoise won’t be full size for a few years. There will eventually also be a protected outdoor yard space but need to do some landscaping first. I’ve sketched out 3 potential lighting layouts. The red circle is the basking BR30 flood lamp. Any advice you can provide would be appreciated.

 

[GardiendeKoopa]

Substrate will be mostly coconut coir with some orchid (fir) bark on top since it will be for a hatchling or yearling with higher humidity and burrowing needs. There will be a basking slate under the basking lamp, a feeding slate, and a shallow terra cotta clay saucer for water. Not sure on optimal placement of the feeding slate and water yet, near or far from the basking light.

 

[Tortellini0000]

I think you can search and see some other post with the same question and I’m sure an expert will comment soon!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Maybe @Alex and the Redfoot can advice you.

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Hello!

From your sketches the first and the third one look optimal. You can also rotate UVB tube to fit it diagonally in the corner with a basking lamp).

As for the LED brightness - an estimate is 1500 lumens per 4 sq.ft. It doesn't have to be fancy Arcadia JungleDawn - regular white grow lights or shop lights can be used as well.

1. While LumenIZE T5 UVB kits can be dimmed, they are not intended to be dimmed at constantly. Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense to dim it when you have it set on 4 hours timer. To reduce UV level you can install a mesh protector (LampGuard) for the fixture. ZooMed Reptisun T5 10.0 hood is another option (it has lower UV output but still a decent quality). However, having a Solarmeter 6.5 to measure exact UV level is a must for non-standard setups.

2. Basking lamp can be placed at 4-5" from UVB fixture, it prevents heat damage and also reduces "shadowing" of UV with basking lamp. Protective cage is not necessary, yet can be useful to catch glass shards in very rare cases when basking bulb blows up.

3. While your tortoise is still small (if you plan to get a hatchling), 20-21C is tad too low for the nightime. You will need ambient heating and a thermostat set to 24-25C. This also comes handy if your tortoise gets sick and you need to keep it warmer to give a little boost to immunity.

4. Exact placement of basking lamp is not *very* important. You just need to provide heat/UV gradient and different microclimates for your tortoise (cool and dry, cool and damp, hot and shady, hot and open etc.). E.g. a small cave under the basking stone or a leafy plant on the edge of the basking area.

5. I would not place food dish near basking lamp (greens will wilt and dry out quickly). Water dish can be somewhere in the middle (so it's not very cold, allows to sit and cool down), away from "popular routes" to reduce mess in the dish.

This thread also has nice layouts and suggestions (it's for 8x4 that allows more freedom in placing lights, though): https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/8-4-enclosure-lighting.215843/

Feel free to ask more questions!

 

[GardiendeKoopa]

Hello!

From your sketches the first and the third one look optimal. You can also rotate UVB tube to fit it diagonally in the corner with a basking lamp).

As for the LED brightness - an estimate is 1500 lumens per 4 sq.ft. It doesn't have to be fancy Arcadia JungleDawn - regular white grow lights or shop lights can be used as well.

1. While LumenIZE T5 UVB kits can be dimmed, they are not intended to be dimmed at constantly. Also, it doesn't make a lot of sense to dim it when you have it set on 4 hours timer. To reduce UV level you can install a mesh protector (LampGuard) for the fixture. ZooMed Reptisun T5 10.0 hood is another option (it has lower UV output but still a decent quality). However, having a Solarmeter 6.5 to measure exact UV level is a must for non-standard setups.

2. Basking lamp can be placed at 4-5" from UVB fixture, it prevents heat damage and also reduces "shadowing" of UV with basking lamp. Protective cage is not necessary, yet can be useful to catch glass shards in very rare cases when basking bulb blows up.

3. While your tortoise is still small (if you plan to get a hatchling), 20-21C is tad too low for the nightime. You will need ambient heating and a thermostat set to 24-25C. This also comes handy if your tortoise gets sick and you need to keep it warmer to give a little boost to immunity.

4. Exact placement of basking lamp is not *very* important. You just need to provide heat/UV gradient and different microclimates for your tortoise (cool and dry, cool and damp, hot and shady, hot and open etc.). E.g. a small cave under the basking stone or a leafy plant on the edge of the basking area.

5. I would not place food dish near basking lamp (greens will wilt and dry out quickly). Water dish can be somewhere in the middle (so it's not very cold, allows to sit and cool down), away from "popular routes" to reduce mess in the dish.

This thread also has nice layouts and suggestions (it's for 8x4 that allows more freedom in placing lights, though): https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/8-4-enclosure-lighting.215843/

Feel free to ask more questions!

Would a radiant heat panel be a good way to maintain the higher enclosure temperature during the day and overnight? Is 125W enough for 8x2x2 to keep it a 4 degrees above room temperature? Would having 2 Arcadia Jungle Dawn 22.5” LED bars be too bright?

 

[Alex and the Redfoot]

Would a radiant heat panel be a good way to maintain the higher enclosure temperature during the day and overnight? Is 125W enough for 8x2x2 to keep it a 4 degrees above room temperature? Would having 2 Arcadia Jungle Dawn 22.5” LED bars be too bright?

Radiant heat panels are good. They just take a lot of space on the ceiling and sometimes you need to be really creative to fit everything around the panel in 2' wide enclosure. E.g. placing LED bars diagonally / \ /

125W should be plenty for a well insulated enclosure. Two smaller panels may provide better heat distribution and can be easier to fit in.

Two 22'5 JungleDawns are definitely *not* too bright. I will use longer bars for the 8' enclosure or add a third 22'5 one. Common non-colored growlights or shoplights from Sansi or Barrina are also acceptable to use.