(2) reptisun 2.0 tubes or (1) 5.0

[boondyke69]

Heu there, I just got a very nice 2 tube fixture but it's made for (2) 18" bulbs. I can use just one, but I was wondering if using 2 of the 2.0 bulbs would work.

Simone went for a ride with me last Sat & she wasn't stressed at all... stayed her calm colors & only got cranky when I put her back in her "room".

 

[Texas Panther Man]

Use 1. 5.0 & 1. 6500k daylight fl bulb

 

[Olimpia]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think adding more tubes multiplies the amount of UVB radiated, but I don't have a UV meter, so I couldn't tell you.

Get the single 5.0 light instead and then you can get a 5000k or 6500k fluorescent daylight bulb from any home depot/lowe's if you have a double fixture already. These will add brightness to the cage and help the plants.

 

[boondyke69]

one 5.0 bulb

I decided to use the single fixture (in addition to her basking bulb).
I put in the new 5.0 tube & now after only 5 days she seems more active & has started hunting the crickets like a champ. SHe is still slow & sometimes unsteady (pretty sure it's the MBD) but she is active & obvioulsy feeling lots better.

 

[sandrachameleon]

It is my understanding that One 5.0 is better than two 2.0 for the purposes of UVB penetration
use the second tube spot for a plant light

 

[summoner12]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think adding more tubes multiplies the amount of UVB radiated, but I don't have a UV meter, so I couldn't tell you.

Get the single 5.0 light instead and then you can get a 5000k or 6500k fluorescent daylight bulb from any home depot/lowe's if you have a double fixture already. These will add brightness to the cage and help the plants.

More than one lamp will help increase UVB...... but it isn't as much as you would think and certainly not 'oh I have two 5.0 lamps so I have the same as a 10.0'

The best way to increase your UVB output is to use aluminum foil from the kitchen and line the backing of your lighting fixture with it. Even if you have those cheap units from HD or Walmart that don't really have much of a reflector.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/some-readings-22893/

 

[NORChameleons]

If you have one or 5 tubes it will not affect the amount of uv given, it will increase the spread of the uv radiation, but the intensity will remain the same at any given distance from the bulb.
Take a look at one of my other posts about the radtion from a 5.0 tube: https://www.chameleonforums.com/baby-panthers-going-dead-68944/index3.html
I recomand using both 5.0 and 2.0 to cover more of the natural sunlight.
However, it is all depending on your terrarium for wich uv fixture your chameleon will benefit most from. A UV-bulb is without doubt superior to any tube

 

[Dave Weldon]

More than one lamp will help increase UVB...... ]

Howdy Sue,

Yep, you'll get an increase in the UVB energy reaching a particular area on a surface so long as the UVB energy from each of the UVB sources overlaps the same point on that surface. We're measuring this point in uW/cm2 -> "microwatts per square centimeter" so if two fluorescent UVB tubes are each outputting 100uW/cm2 onto the same square centimeter of surface then, if I recall correctly, it will increase following the "square root of the sum of the squares" law. So 100uW/cm2 and another 100uW/cm2 UVB light will increase by 1.41 (1.41 is the square root of 2) or a total of 141uW/cm2 on that square centimeter of surface.

One thing to note though, as Kevin has pointed out in the past, 2.0 tubes are ineffective at producing UVB. The Reptisun 5.0 linear tube is much more suitable to the task of producing a safe and effective level of UVB for most chameleons. To improve the spectral content of the light reaching your chameleon, try using a low cost halogen light as your basking lamp. They produce a nice white light.