Quick lighting query

RhysK98

New Member
First of all, hi guys.

So I'm wanting to upgrade my Veiled Chams enclosure he's pretty much grown out of it and I was wanting to build a custom enclosure for him around 5/6' tall and 3' wide/deep. I wanted to use 100% natural live plants so I know for that I need a decent light to keep those in shape, however the one I have is one I use for my chilli plants and it's a 125w CFL and I believe it's the 6500k version (red spectrum) and I'm pretty sure that it'd be far too potent for little guy!

Does anyone have any tips on lighting setups where I can still have decent UVB production for my Chameleon, as well as good lighting for the plants without turning him into a kebab?

Sorry for the long paragraph guys
Cheers
Rhys
 
First of all, hi guys.

So I'm wanting to upgrade my Veiled Chams enclosure he's pretty much grown out of it and I was wanting to build a custom enclosure for him around 5/6' tall and 3' wide/deep. I wanted to use 100% natural live plants so I know for that I need a decent light to keep those in shape, however the one I have is one I use for my chilli plants and it's a 125w CFL and I believe it's the 6500k version (red spectrum) and I'm pretty sure that it'd be far too potent for little guy!

Does anyone have any tips on lighting setups where I can still have decent UVB production for my Chameleon, as well as good lighting for the plants without turning him into a kebab?

Sorry for the long paragraph guys
Cheers
Rhys
That bulb will be fine to use as your plant light in that enclosure: if you have a PAR meter, you’ll see that it doesn’t even come close to the suns energy. Also, 6500k is not red spectrum light, it’s bright white daylight. However, you’ll still need a good uvb source.
 
That bulb will be fine to use as your plant light in that enclosure: if you have a PAR meter, you’ll see that it doesn’t even come close to the suns energy. Also, 6500k is not red spectrum light, it’s bright white daylight. However, you’ll still need a good uvb source.
Ah my bad dude with the spectrum mistake. I still have some t5 tubes to use for UVB however I wasn't 100% sure if the CFL already popped out at least enough UVB. It's mainly heat I was worried about, the 125w kicks out a fair amount of heat so would you reckon I'd still need a bask bulb? Just a little 40w halo I think it is
 
It's mainly heat I was worried about, the 125w kicks out a fair amount of heat so would you reckon I'd still need a bask bulb? Just a little 40w halo I think it is
I have a microclimate stat I can use for temp regulation but since itd be used for plant growth I'm not sure it'd be suitable flicking on and off all the time
 
All good. So first off, that bulb/ballast combo should be mounted about 6” above your screen. You shouldn’t get much heat then. I know the kind you’re talking about, four or five loops and a mogul base, right? Don’t worry about the heat, either use a computer fan to blow between the bulb and the cage, or else use a heat gun to set the bulb at a height that delivers an 85-90 degree temp at the main basking branch. That way, you don’t need a basking bulb; the heat from the ballast of that bulb will do the work for you.
 
All good. So first off, that bulb/ballast combo should be mounted about 6” above your screen. You shouldn’t get much heat then. I know the kind you’re talking about, four or five loops and a mogul base, right? Don’t worry about the heat, either use a computer fan to blow between the bulb and the cage, or else use a heat gun to set the bulb at a height that delivers an 85-90 degree temp at the main basking branch. That way, you don’t need a basking bulb; the heat from the ballast of that bulb will do the work for you.
Yeah that's right mate, I've got an IR gun I could use to adjust if needed and I'm pretty sure I could pick up a usb fan for cheapo. Another quick one in terms of the cage too, I was going to use carbon fibre mesh but would you recommend metal?
 
Yeah that's right mate, I've got an IR gun I could use to adjust if needed and I'm pretty sure I could pick up a usb fan for cheapo. Another quick one in terms of the cage too, I was going to use carbon fibre mesh but would you recommend metal?
Up to you on the mesh, most guys go aluminum, as some feeders chew the rest, but if alluminum’s safe then carbon fibre is probably better.
 
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