Light my cage please

Mjw011689

New Member
Hello all, I'm going to be moving my veiled into a larger setup in the near future and I'd like some input on lighting.

I plan to build a very large cage, probably in the 6+ foot tall range. What kind of lighting would be acceptable for this? I'm thinking t5ho, but I'm familiar with those in saltwater aquariums, not so much with reptiles. I've heard a lot of debate over 5.0 vs 10.0, the latter mostly being used in taller setups, but is this true?

Also, do I use a single lamp or will I need 2 5.0 (or 10.0) in something like this. It will most likely be around 3ft wide, so I'd assume the 39w t5ho is what I'd use.

Lastly, can anyone recommend a good light fixture. I've done plenty of diy setups so that's actually preferable for the enclosure I've got in mind.

Thanks in advance
 
https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...ed-on-uvb-lighting-t5-t8.160306/#post-1379735

So...

A 6% HO is good for about 32", and a 12% 48". And it doesnt matter how close the cham gets to the bulbs, even 6-12" a way from a 12% is not going to have a UVI above 6.5, which is full sun in summer.

If you want to play it safe, i recommend the single bulb Sunblaster NanoTech fixtures (you can daisy chain them) and 1 6% + 1 6500k. That should give you the correct min uvb for mid cage since the nano techs are narrow beam. So 2 39w HO's one uvb and one 6500k.
 
Thanks that's kinda what I was hoping. I wanna grow plants so I assume the 6500 would be good for that. One thing I'm unclear about, what is the difference between 6% and 12%? Is that the same as the 5.0 and 10.0?
 
Thanks that's kinda what I was hoping. I wanna grow plants so I assume the 6500 would be good for that. One thing I'm unclear about, what is the difference between 6% and 12%? Is that the same as the 5.0 and 10.0?

Yup its just marketing. In fact just to confuse customers even more, Exo Terra switched to 100-200 instead of 5.0/10.0 or 6%/12%.

But anyway, the 100/6%/5.0 all put out the same amount of uvb, and the 200/12%/10.0 put out double what the 100/6%/5.0 do. And to confuse people even more, the T8 and the T5HO use the same models, but the T5HO puts out 300% more uvb vs the T8, of the same model. So a 6% T5HO will put out 300% more uvb vs a 6% T8.
 
Though you are pretty limited with a decent cheap 3 footer, one thing to keep in mind with the nano tech is it does have light spill. It is a pretty good light for what it is and especially being a coated plastic reflector. As long as you are ok with the light spill I would second @nightanole recommendation of it. If there is anyway you can go 4 ft wide, then I would alter my suggestion to the sunblaze supreme so you don't have the light spill.

The supreme is what I would call a cross between a "normal" t5ho grow light and the blaster. Still has a "rolled" single reflector like the blaster but it has the "tucked" design of a standard sun blaze fixture so all the light is directed down instead of letting some spill out the sides. I used one of the 4 ft blasters on one of my plant over flow tanks a few years ago. If I can find a pic of it I'll post it so you can have an idea of the light spill.
 
Here is the only pic of the tank I could find showing the light spill. I rocked mine forward to keep all my spill to the back but, there is about 1/16 to 1/8 of the bulb exposed on either side due to the way the fixture and the reflector are made. You can kind of see the top of the blaster to the right side of the tank.

20141024_003616.jpg
 
For an enclosure that size, I’d get a 6-8 tube HO T5 fixture and run 2 12% T5 UVB bulbs and run the rest of the bulbs with 5000k LED retrofits. Your plant growth will be insane and your electric bill will not. If you need more heat, you can always run more T5 tubs in the fixture and less LED retrofits. The retrofits give way better results in plant growth and I’ve been using them in my enclosure for some time now.
 

Attachments

  • B04CCC67-AE20-467E-B545-31CA8A7674D4.jpeg
    B04CCC67-AE20-467E-B545-31CA8A7674D4.jpeg
    343.5 KB · Views: 61
  • 8949D53D-53D2-46EA-86C9-3E238F0D38D8.jpeg
    8949D53D-53D2-46EA-86C9-3E238F0D38D8.jpeg
    379 KB · Views: 57
  • C1B312C0-A37D-491E-8108-E3E5E0963BFD.jpeg
    C1B312C0-A37D-491E-8108-E3E5E0963BFD.jpeg
    361.3 KB · Views: 51
  • 804A226E-0655-4AAB-9080-AF6DD55D7A07.jpeg
    804A226E-0655-4AAB-9080-AF6DD55D7A07.jpeg
    367.3 KB · Views: 53
Back
Top Bottom