Mercury vapor for UVB? Or Tubes?

[JAdams]

Well heres the epic question.
Its about time to change my uvb bulbs and i was wondering which is better, MV all in one bulbs, such as the ZooMed Powersun, and the Exo-Terra Solar Glo.
Or the Traditional Tubes?

It will be for a veiled cham.
My enclosure is an all screen custom made, 48"h 32"w 16"d.
The top is wire mesh with 1/2" squares.
Right now my bottom temps are kinda low around 72*.

Also do the MV bulbs have to be changed every 6 months like the tubes?
Any input will be appreciated!

 

[mc9423]

MVBs should be changed annually, and they work just as well as regular UVB bulbs. They just put out a *lot* of heat, and a good amount of UVB.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Tubes.

72 is a fine temp for the bottom of a 48" enclosure ... mine are cooler (68 to 70) at the bottom.

-Brad

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Justin,

There are some recent issues with MV UVB sources. Some of the manufacturers have changed their manufacturing processes and that has increased the output on some and decreased it for others. Another MV supplier has had some troubles with the filter coatings on their MV lamps and has been exchanging them with replacements. Without a Solarmeter 6.2, it would be difficult to determine any MV lamp's have proper output levels and thus its correct placement above your chameleon's basking spot. Stick with a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube for now.

 

[JAdams]

Thanks for all of the info guys i am beginning to lean tward the reptisun. but i found thos brand that researches the new mv bulbs..
Check it out and tell me what you think www.reptileuv.com/

also is posting links like that for reference allowed on this forum, it is on a few others, but i dont know about here?

 

[Dave Weldon]

...i am beginning to lean tward the reptisun. but i found thos brand that researches the new mv bulbs...www.reptileuv.com/...

Howdy Justin,

Bob has really great products. If you want to go the MV route, check with Bob to see if they have resolved the peeling filter issue. Also, you'll need to understand what the proper distance for chameleons is with that lamp. Ask Bob . Otherwise, you'll be safe as can be with the Reptisun 5.0 linear tube if you choose to go with a linear fluorescent tube instead.

 

[JAdams]

thanks Dave, I sent Bob an email..ill let you know what he responds.

 

[morpheon]

As many said, if you have a UVB meter, this is probably the best lamp you can get. At least in my opinion. The problem is if you are using Bob's measurement, you ought to have the same enclosures than him. This reason is because different screening can modify the amount of UVBs entering your enclosure.

One very good thing about MegaRays is that Bob has a great customer service and he responds to email very quickly. In fact, when i contacted him on January 1st 2010, he answered me by email within a few hours! That's hard to beat!

I once had a lamp that had the peeling issue, and he sent me another bulb as soon as he received the damaged one. The new bulb was in perfect shake, but sadly i dropped it on the ground and broke it... Bye $50! But that's not Bob's fault haha!

 

[xanthoman]

if you are well informed on reptile lighting issues and have a uvb meter, (and know how to use it?), then there is nothing wrong with using mv. on the other hand, if you need to ask, then you are better off with a lineal reptisun 5.0, it should be considered the safest default lighting for those without the experience or equipment for more advanced lighting options. jmo

 

[JAdams]

I have herd by many that Bob is very honest. I told him every detail about my enclosure(type of top,type of screen,ect.)
also im thinking of buying a meter before i purchase the bulb. If i do..
gotta do more research.