zoo med power sun and zoo med reptisun 5.0

reptyslick123

New Member
what i am hoping to do in my chameleons adult tanks is to have zoo med power sun 100w buld but if i want the tanks to be bright could i add a zoo med reptisun 5.0.
 
what i am hoping to do in my chameleons adult tanks is to have zoo med power sun 100w buld but if i want the tanks to be bright could i add a zoo med reptisun 5.0.

Power suns are not really recommended for chameleons unless they are used in large enclosures or free ranges, AND the lamp is set up with the proper tools; UVB meter and infrared temp gun. It would be better if you used the 5.0 linear tube (say a 18"or 24") with the ZooMed NatureSun lamp in a similar size as the 5.0 lamp. Us a dual linear lamp fixture, like what you can find at Home Depot or Lowe's.

PowerSuns are meant more for desert animals and put out large amount of UVB that can be unsafe for chameleons if not set to the proper distance. These lamps also can generate a lot of heat if placed too close to the chameleon.

What kind of enclosure are you using? How big is it?
 
If you were to use a mercury vapor bulb, you should use a UVB meter to monitor it as chameleons often do not need the high output of some MV bulbs. Other bulbs just don't produce enough. Plus there is the crazy burn in periods and what not.

From what I've read, I think a mega-ray MV 60 or 100 watt LOW would be okay is the bulb had an output of 70-50 mW/cm2 at 12". Then just raise the bulb to 18-24" away from the animal. At least, that's my understanding of the bulbs and their outputs without having tested them myself or owning a meter.
 
No I don't think so. I'm thinking about using one in my free range, but that is because I have tons of space for the animal toget away from it.
 
I for one support uvb heat bulbs, but i think the model you have is too powerful for your cage

Buy a mega ray LOW, and dude, if you go uvb, go mega ray and nothing else.

Follow the instructions like you life depended on it.

John





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The self ballasted ones are Sooooo expensive for not usually lasting longer than 6 or so months! It's cheaper to use fluorescent tubes if they burn out that fast. I know not all do, but I also know A LOT do burn out fast.
 
I don't think MegaRay Self Ballasted Low bulbs are expensive at all. I think they list them at 46$ right??

Also they have a 1 year warranty and are said to typically still produce enough UVB all the way to 18months. Heck...even if it does start to decay you can just move the bulb closer.

If you replace your RepitSun 5.0 every six months and they are 20-25$ a pop. So over a years time, you save 4$. Also they produce heat and you wont have to use the heat bulb depending on your setup. Quite the savings over time...especially if you get 18months out of a mega ray.

eitherway, I wouldn't trust the zoomed one unless I had the uvb meter.
 
I don't think MegaRay Self Ballasted Low bulbs are expensive at all. I think they list them at 46$ right??

Also they have a 1 year warranty and are said to typically still produce enough UVB all the way to 18months. Heck...even if it does start to decay you can just move the bulb closer.

If you replace your RepitSun 5.0 every six months and they are 20-25$ a pop. So over a years time, you save 4$. Also they produce heat and you wont have to use the heat bulb depending on your setup. Quite the savings over time...especially if you get 18months out of a mega ray.

eitherway, I wouldn't trust the zoomed one unless I had the uvb meter.

good points... but again, a UVB meter is a good idea... heck.. a good idea for anyone... using linear or MV lamps.

I just have issues with MV lamps. As is said around the UVB group... 'lighting is a process, not a lamp'. (did I get that right? Dave?) This means... that even if you do use a mega ray.. it would be a very good idea to use a 6500k lamp to help brighten the cage. Yes, we all get our natural light from one source, the sun. But.. in a micro environment like a cham cage... the lamp isn't far enough to light the entire cage alone. In this respect I like the linear tubes better because a dual fixture can produce a good amount of light, more evenly across the cage than just one MV lamp. Yes... I have three lamps above each cage (or 4 lamps on two cages.... they share a fual 48" UVB and 6500K with their own heat lamp each)... but I am still using less power than if I had a 100w MV AND tube lamps to help supplement cage lighting... If you have one cage... an MV and one or two linear lamps to help light the cage isn't THAT much power... but if you had to replicate that for several cages, it would get costly by the month for the operational costs. It would be interesting to see a studdy on lumens per dollar in micro environment lighting... :cool:
 
I have been using 100 watt MV bulbs and a 125 watt 6500K CFL on each of my large cages for years. Super bright. No issues whatsoever and my plants thrive as well. I've allways changed out both bulbs after about a year. The first generation MV bulbs were pretty fragile but they seem to be much more robust now. The only problem for me is at 225 watts per cage, the electical bill gets pretty pricey.
 
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