reflective dome lights

[camarokiller]

Hi guys,
Long time lurker first time poster. My torts new set up has 2 of the chrome - ish inside dome lights. I'm running 2 reptisun bulbs, a 60w for ambient light and a 150w for heat and light. Seems like all of a sudden I'm reading a bunch of posts saying these silver lined domes arnt good to have. Up until today I have always used the white painted ones without issue, I simply used these two because they have built in hangers that work well with my new set up. Does anyone think I'm doing my boy any harm with the silver domes?

 

[Yvonne G]

I haven't heard that. All of my reflector domes are aluminum and shiny. It's what I've always used and have never had a problem.

I don't think you need both lights...unless your habitat is too cool with just the one. I have two 10" aluminum dome fixtures. One holds a 100watt mercury vapor bulb for UVB and heat, and the other holds a black light that I turn on at night because my house gets very cold.

 

[Saleama]

I think what you might have heard is people saying to use ceramic domes for the higher wattage light bulbs. I use the silver ones (after spending a fortune on the other ones at petsmart) because they are less expensive and come in a much wider range of sizes. They do not offer the same flexability because they are on or off with no dimmer switch, but I hardly use those anyway. I have never had any issues.

 

[Yvonne G]

Oh, now I think I get it....when we talk about 'ceramic' in reference to the dome reflectors, we're talking about the base, or the part that you screw the bulb into. A ceramic base reflector stands up to the high heat of the MVB or CHE better than the Bakelite (plastic) base does.

 

[camarokiller]

Whew what a relief. Lol. I do need both lights see in as the enclosure is about 200 galon