Lighting on larger enclosure

[deerhunter]

Hello everyone!! I am getting close to finishing my cage build but I am getting different answers across the board on what lights to use. Again my enclosure is approx 6ft high by 4 wide 4 deep. A lot of people are saying 5.0 and some 10.0? My concern is the height factor allowing the proper lighting getting to plants and my parsons for good health. Thinking about the zoo med UVB/led 48'' what do you guys and gals think?

 

[Alexander1]

Hello everyone!! I am getting close to finishing my cage build but I am getting different answers across the board on what lights to use. Again my enclosure is approx 6ft high by 4 wide 4 deep. A lot of people are saying 5.0 and some 10.0? My concern is the height factor allowing the proper lighting getting to plants and my parsons for good health. Thinking about the zoo med UVB/led 48'' what do you guys and gals think?

I would use 10.0 for best penetration, as long as you have plants for your Cham to regulate its uvb exposure it should be fine, I'm no expert I would definitely ask Todd from light your reptiles, send him a picture of your enclosure and he recommends a lighting solution, he's pretty dope...

 

[deerhunter]

Ok thank you Alexander1. Is Todd on the forums?

 

[Alexander1]

Ok thank you Alexander1. Is Todd on the forums?

Yes, [email protected] is his email

 

[deerhunter]

I appreciate that. Thank you.

 

[Alexander1]

No prob

 

[Andee]

I agree with Alexander if you are you going to with the 5.0 or 10.0 measurements I'd go with 10.0 just make sure to have plenty of coverage. However in my opinion light your reptiles Arcadia uvb lights are much better, the 12% will work for that size of an enclosure just fine and will grow your plants great. They also can easily last to a year unlike the 10.0 which need to be replaced every 6 months. They also have an easier time penetrating screen with a higher amount of uvb than the 10.0 do.

 

[rminnis]

May or may not be helpful but ive got the 48 Zoo med uvb led light and love it, my 45 inch tall 44 wide 22 deep enclosure is lit amazingly well in my opinion and would work for something bigger and the 5.0 seems to really shine down through the whole thing pretty well.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Neither.

Ask Todd to hook you up with the light system he got me for Atlas's habitat.

 

[Decadancin]

Yes, [email protected] is his email

Also he is @Venutus1 here.

 

[savage13]

I tend to agree with oldcham, Alex, Andee go with Todd he help pick my lighting for my setup I have the Quad Fixture T5 bulbs and my animal love it...

 

[deerhunter]

Thanks everyone I will contact Todd and share what he advises!

 

[deerhunter]

Tried contacting Todd not hearing anything. Anyone want to help out here? I do not know his member ID to send a Pm. Thanks

 

[savage13]

It @Venutus1

 

[deerhunter]

Thanks again savage!

 

[Decadancin]

If I were @Venutus1 I would recommend the T5HO Quad fixture with an Arcadia 12% UVB along with two 6500k plant bulbs and one plant pro. This is the fixture with blue LED's that can be set on timer for dawn and dusk effect, and two other plugs for flexibility in timer settings. With an enclosure that tall if it is well planted you could (in my best impersonation of Todd's opinion) easily use a 12% and provide what your chameleon needs.

 

[andy27012]

I ran a dual t8 48" light fixture over two separate enclosures that put together were those dimensions. I ran a standard plant gro bulb from lowes and a 5.0 t8 fbulb and had both plants and animals thrive. No need to spend a 100+ on a fixture. I promise the breeders aren't!

 

[deerhunter]

Thank you for the input! Ok so Decadancin where can I buy this set up and how much? Andy I like the way you think. Were you able to purchase everything from lowes? I tried to contact Todd again I think he is on vacation!!! Lol

 

[Decadancin]

Here it is. I would still wait to hear from Todd for his actual recommendation but I have the 22" version and love it. The enclosure is much brighter and the high output bulbs with the reflector in the Tropic Blaze fixture is (in MY opinion this time) well worth it.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ho...5k-daylight-bulbs-and-arcadia-plant-pro-bulb/

I think its around $190, and the bulbs are included in that cost. (Also, the UVB bulb should easily last a full year.)

With a 6 foot enclosure you will definitely need a powerful setup with a great reflector, so I don't think a standard fixture with T8's would suffice, but I haven't done this myself so I can't say for sure. The added plant bulbs in the quad will also help if you are doing live plants. A T8 dual just won't give off enough light.

Hope this helps .

 

[andy27012]

Thank you for the input! Ok so Decadancin where can I buy this set up and how much? Andy I like the way you think. Were you able to purchase everything from lowes? I tried to contact Todd again I think he is on vacation!!! Lol

I purchased the plant bulb and fixture for thirty bucks from lowes hardware. I ordered the 5.0 through Amazon, it runs me 19 bucks with free shipping through Amazon prime. If you don't have Amazon prime go to your local petco and ask to do an extended aisle check out through Drs. Foster and smith and you can have it shipped to your door free of charge for 21.99 plus tax. If they have it in stock in store ask them to price match Drs.foster and smith and you can walk home with it then and there for 21.99+tax.