lights
- Thread starter ellacham
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MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Do you mean uvb? These?
Kaizen
Chameleon Enthusiast
Just to expand on this post: top light bad, bottom light good!
ZEROPILOT
Avid Member
One of these in one of those.
Or you can often get a 5.0 tube already inside a fixture at a pet shop.
You'll just pay more.
I get my Tubes on CHEWY,COM and the 18" "under cabinet" fixtures at Home Depot or Walmart and throw away the household tube that they come with.
I also use the Reptisun MV bulb I already posted. That type also gives off heat.
A strip florescent gives off almost no heat. So you'd still need a heat source.
Or you can often get a 5.0 tube already inside a fixture at a pet shop.
You'll just pay more.
I get my Tubes on CHEWY,COM and the 18" "under cabinet" fixtures at Home Depot or Walmart and throw away the household tube that they come with.
I also use the Reptisun MV bulb I already posted. That type also gives off heat.
A strip florescent gives off almost no heat. So you'd still need a heat source.
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CamoChameleonsHuman
Chameleon Enthusiast
Problem with that is the ballast inside your Walmart fixture is not made for UVB bulbs. You're probably burning out the phosphorus in the bulbs way faster than intended this making your bulbs less effective in the long run.
CasqueAbove
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have been using these with both mine since they were about 3- 4 months. I have had any issues, and my animals are very healthy. The first two months were under a power compact.
I see this debate all the time , and they always leave out 2 key factors. How far away will the bulb be and what is the divider from the light screen, open, 1/4 in mesh.
I have large open air enclosures that I need to cover, so for me it is 2 in one metal halide. The penetrate deeper. However for say a female in an 18x18x36 just sitting on the screen would cook them.
All three types are great in their right situations.
As far as brands I use the Solar Glo that ZEROPILOT showed above.
I see this debate all the time , and they always leave out 2 key factors. How far away will the bulb be and what is the divider from the light screen, open, 1/4 in mesh.
I have large open air enclosures that I need to cover, so for me it is 2 in one metal halide. The penetrate deeper. However for say a female in an 18x18x36 just sitting on the screen would cook them.
All three types are great in their right situations.
As far as brands I use the Solar Glo that ZEROPILOT showed above.
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cyberlocc
Chameleon Enthusiast
Ya I don't think so.
No ballast is made for UVB bulbs. The UV fixtures we use, are just good quality fixtures. None of the UV company's have custom made fixtures or ballasts. They use the same tech as everyone else. I don't think any of them even make the bulbs tbh. I know for a fact Arcadia doesn't, they have made the recipe, but some one else produces the bulb. Same is likely true, for the rest.
Making Floursencent lights, UV or not, (which all of them put out some UV) takes very large machines, in very large factories. That's all China, especially as making them is dangerous. China don't care.
The reptile industry is honestly very small. Things like UV lights, are one thing, where it sells decently often enough, and so somewhat viable to alter a product to suit. Ballasts, we don't even skim the surface of enough fixtures bought and sold, to warrant a custom ballast. Most of the tech we get in this industry, are hammy downs. We are scrounging to fill our needs, more so than having products designed for us specifically.
That fixture likely has a decent ballast. But it's t8, so less UV, and no reflecor, so it's definitely not providing as high of UVI as a T5 with a Reflector.
