bradley
New Member
Today I was flicking through an old magazine of mine from a few years back when the arcadia T5 HO bulbs first became available for sale here in the UK. It shows comparative readings between their T8 bulbs and their T5 HO bulbs.
There has been a lot of debate and a few posts recently on here and a few other forums regarding using bulbs higher than 5.0 for uv. I myself (as many people know) use higher bulbs and always have done with no ill effects to my chameleons in the time I have kept them.
What I found interesting about this article is the readings. Many people when switching to the T5 HO bulbs on here have simply went straight for the 6% bulb as it is what they would use in T8 form but these bulbs give out more uv than a 10-12% T8 bulb. In the article it shows the readings at different lengths away from the bulb.
A 12% T8 bulb at 10cm from the bulb with a reflector gives off 252 mws
A 6% T5 HO bulb gives off at 10cm from the bulb 289mws.
Most people would just automatically go with the 6% bulb in the T5 range as it should be close to the 5.0 already used by most but really it is closer to a 10.0.
I know everybody has there way of doing things and many people have had success for many years with 5.0 bulbs for their chameleons but I just wanted to raise this point hoping it will show people just how these bulbs compare.
Here is the article in full written by the man who makes these bulbs and develops them.
http://www.arcadia-reptile.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/058_PRK_Nov11-1.pdf
There has been a lot of debate and a few posts recently on here and a few other forums regarding using bulbs higher than 5.0 for uv. I myself (as many people know) use higher bulbs and always have done with no ill effects to my chameleons in the time I have kept them.
What I found interesting about this article is the readings. Many people when switching to the T5 HO bulbs on here have simply went straight for the 6% bulb as it is what they would use in T8 form but these bulbs give out more uv than a 10-12% T8 bulb. In the article it shows the readings at different lengths away from the bulb.
A 12% T8 bulb at 10cm from the bulb with a reflector gives off 252 mws
A 6% T5 HO bulb gives off at 10cm from the bulb 289mws.
Most people would just automatically go with the 6% bulb in the T5 range as it should be close to the 5.0 already used by most but really it is closer to a 10.0.
I know everybody has there way of doing things and many people have had success for many years with 5.0 bulbs for their chameleons but I just wanted to raise this point hoping it will show people just how these bulbs compare.
Here is the article in full written by the man who makes these bulbs and develops them.
http://www.arcadia-reptile.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/058_PRK_Nov11-1.pdf