Solarmeter

[AnamCara]

I recently got a solar meter, but I am unsure what levels I should be getting at what point in the cage. I have seen this chart:

This is the reading on Mona's enclosure -- where the light is directly on top of the enclosure:

my readings on Coza's enclsoure, which has had the light raised a couple of inches

Anyone with a solar meter -- what readings do you get at the highest branch in your enclosure?

 

[coastal_chameleon]

you should be aiming at 3.0-6.0 at your basking spot .
test the bulb its self to see if the bulb is getting old .
if you cant get reading of around 3.0 or higher at the basking branch it may be time for a new bulb !

when was the last time it was replaced ?

 

[coastal_chameleon]

if your getting 2.7 directly under the light its time to replace the bulb !

 

[AnamCara]

you should be aiming at 3.0-6.0 at your basking spot .
test the bulb its self to see if the bulb is getting old .
if you cant get reading of around 3.0 or higher at the basking branch it may be time for a new bulb !

when was the last time it was replaced ?

replaced it about 6 months ago. I'll order a new one today.

 

[nightanole]

You should be shooting for around 3.0 in the "chameleon hang out zone", where ever that might be. If your cham hangs out around 6", then 3.0 at 6" (account for the 3" of chameleon), if you cham hangs out around a foot away, you are looking for 3.0 at 12".

And if you are shooting for the new 3.0, you should also follow the new supplement sched, which is little to none D3 supplements.


I do light D3 supplement, but i also tune for 1.5 and my cham hangs out at 18-24". 10 years ago the standard was .5-1.0, so you cant use the old supplement sched with the new bulbs.

 

[nightanole]

replaced it about 6 months ago. I'll order a new one today.

If your T5 HO is junk at 6 months, you might want to give them a call and see if you can get a free replacement. I easy get 18-24 months before they are down to half output.

 

[JoXie411]

What kind of food do you have and what power of UVB are you using?

 

[AnamCara]

What kind of food do you have and what power of UVB are you using?

food? using Arcadia 6%

 

[AnamCara]

If your T5 HO is junk at 6 months, you might want to give them a call and see if you can get a free replacement. I easy get 18-24 months before they are down to half output.

That is what made me ask -- and think I may not be using the solarmeter correctly.

 

[JoXie411]

food? using Arcadia 6%

I meant light hood? My voice txt sucks

 

[coastal_chameleon]

That is what made me ask -- and think I may not be using the solarmeter correctly.

on the podcast with bill strand they talked about how not using the correct fixture can shorten the life of the bulb ..

 

[AnamCara]

this is on Coza's enclosure:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XPKQPSL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is on Mona's
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKKUBDQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[AnamCara]

You should be shooting for around 3.0 in the "chameleon hang out zone", where ever that might be. If your cham hangs out around 6", then 3.0 at 6" (account for the 3" of chameleon), if you cham hangs out around a foot away, you are looking for 3.0 at 12".

And if you are shooting for the new 3.0, you should also follow the new supplement sched, which is little to none D3 supplements.


I do light D3 supplement, but i also tune for 1.5 and my cham hangs out at 18-24". 10 years ago the standard was .5-1.0, so you cant use the old supplement sched with the new bulbs.

This is super helpful. Coza tends to hang out lower than Mona. Mona hangs right at the top of her enclosure.

 

[nightanole]

this is on Coza's enclosure:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XPKQPSL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is on Mona's
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AKKUBDQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So mona is using the sunblaster which is on the approved list, and i think you are getting the normal 3.0. Coza is using an unverified brand, and if its a cheapo, it wont put out enough voltage, and the bulb will be putting out "light" but might be very low output.

My personal recomendations for amazon is the:
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-Agrobrite-FLT48-Fluorescent-System/dp/B0031CA3OM

Since they have name brand balasts in them. But you need to get a 6500k bulb, as they do not sell singles. Or you could just buy another sunblaster. The only down side to the sun blasters is the beam is pretty narrow, so they tend to need to be put up a little higher in order to cover the 24" wide cages. A grow tray is only about 11" wide, so that is what a single sunblaster is tuned to.

 

[AnamCara]

Thank you for all your help!

 

[Tony_S]

Where is the approved fixture list located? Link?

 

[nightanole]

Where is the approved fixture list located? Link?

Sorry its only in my head:

Hydrofarm Agrobrite
Sunblaster NanoTech
Zoomed reptile kits and salt water hoods
Whatever random manufactures Todd from LYR uses (he does performance tests on all samples before selling the model)
Arcadia kits

If you go too cheap, you end up with "normal" T5 balasts that they just tried to crank up to make them work with HO's(Hey Bill i found this china balast with a adjustment knob, if I crank it, it makes these HO's arc and lite, ship it Ted)

 

[Tony_S]

Thanks, I have a LYR hood, was just wondering if I ever have to replace it or buy one for a 2nd enclosure.

 

[Cheeky]

View attachment 256850

Can somebody explain this chart? I would have thought a "quad" would have higher levels of UV than a single? To me it looks like single and quad should be flipped but I must be missing something?

 

[coastal_chameleon]

Can somebody explain this chart? I would have thought a "quad" would have higher levels of UV than a single? To me it looks like single and quad should be flipped but I must be missing something?

when you have multiple bulbs in one fixture the uv actually gets absorbed by the other bulbs with a single you are getting all its strength !