I was just wondering if anyone knows the best way to increase the UVB level in my tank. I have a flourescent coil bulb that fits into a regular lamp dome, as well as a 100W sun glow but I think I need some thing abit better. My other problem is that my tank is only about 20" wide with an 8" opening at the top. It has two sets of sliding front doors but no real 'hood'. Any sugestions?
how many lizards do u have in it cause if its more than one its too small a tank. perconally i would get a diferent tank. for the light problem get a uva/uvb light.
No, sorry, the tank is 21" wide, 18" deep and 41" tall with a half floor in the middle. I was just talking about the top opening where I have the lamps. I have four green anoles, I was just wondering if anyone knew if there was a standard socket bulb that would give off enough UVB for them all or if I need to fix the tank to acomodate a florescent tube hood.
I've heard htat the coil bulbs don't emit as much UVB as the tube bulbs. You're safest bet is to reconfigure the hood to accomodate a flo tube UVB.
Yeah, the ESU coils really emit very low UVB levels. Just get yourself a good quality tube, like the Exo-Terra Rept-Glo 8.0, or the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0. The 100Watt sun glo bulb doesn't emit any UVB.
Thanks I will take a look around and see what I can find. One more question though. I was looking at a couple of hoods yesterday and I saw just the end caps for a florescent tube and the guy at the shop told me that you could just mount the caps in the tank and no have to worry about getting a hood. I don't know if I really like the idea but it would be alot easyier for me. Has anyone had any experince with these or any advice?
Anything above 5% is a waste of money. Get a ZooMed ReptiSun 5.0. Remember, UVB only penetrates 6-12" from the source so you will have to have a secondary basking area close enough to the UVB bulb to reap the benefits. I have found that the best combination is two strip lights--a ZooMed ReptiSun 5.0 fluorescent ( for UVB) and a GE Sunshine fluorescent (for light). I have three 60 watt light bulbs across the back of the enclosure for heat. There are basking areas under each in the form of climbing branches and live foliage plants.
Don't EVER mount a lighting fixture inside of the enclosure. It can cause burns -- even a fluorescent!
Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB And what exactly is this theory based on? Again, what is this based on? How did you find this?
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB There are any number of university studies (notably by University of Tennessee) that conclude that calcium synthesis increases until the UVB concentration reaches 5%. After that, there is little significant difference. Spending more money for a UVB light that produces more UVB does little to affect the health of A. carolinensis. This is especially true if you use a calcium supplement. It is interesting to note that Anoles have been bred for generations without any UVB at all. The downside is that you have to supplement their diet at every feeding. There are several breeders in Germany that use exactly that system. Using a UVB light source is much more convenient.
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB Also, the GE Sunshine fluorescent has a CRI of 90 which s higher than most other fluorescents that you will find and gives better color definition.
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB Please, show me some of these studies. GE Sunshine Flourescent doesn't output any UVB, I'm not bothered about that tube.
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB The GE sunshine is NOT used for UVB. It is used for better viewing (because of the high CRI) and for the live plants in the enclosure. The ZooMed 5.0 is used for UVB.
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB Yes, it's not used for UVB, I know, it doesn't output UVB. Where are the studies you mention? I've been hitting Google, but not coming up with much. I'm just curious how you get the 5% statement, because % is relative to bulb's output. A 48" tube that puts out 5% usable UVB is providing more UVB than an 18" tube that puts out 5% usable UVB - so, why wouldn't, for example, a Reptisun 10.0 put out more useful UVB than a Reptisun 5.0? And all bulbs are not created equal. Reptisun 5.0, Repti-Glo 5.0, and all the other 5.0's put out DIFFERENT levels of UVB (which has been confirmed by MANY people, including ourselves, with UVB meters). So you can't make a blanket claim that "anything above 5% is a waste" without backing it up with evidence. So, let's see it Mercury Vapours put out more UVB than any of the 5% tubes, does this mean they're a waste too? Despite the solid evidence people have observed in their animals appetite, activity level and overall health when kept under them?
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB A 5% UVB fluorescent puts out usable UVB for the length of the tube. If you have a 36" long enclosure, you get the same result whether you use a 36" 5% UVB bulb or a 48" UVB bulb. The difference is that the 48"UVB puts out UVB for 48" of linear dustance and a shorter bulb puts out UVB for a shorter linear distance. I won't debate the fact that a 10% bulb puts out more UVB but whether it is all "useful" is another matter. Halogen and Mercury Vapor lights are generally better suited for large enclosures of 100+ gallons or Zoo environments where other lighting is not practical. Putting one in a 20 or 30 gallon enclosure makes temperature regulation difficult. Increased appetite, activity and health are also addressed by a varied diet. People will put an Anole in a 20 gallon enclosure and feed it crickets (or worse) mealworms daily for months on end and then wonder why it goes "off its feed".
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB I would suggest that you go to the following website and read ALL of the material about mercury vapor, halide, and other "exotic bulbs": http://www.anapsid.org/
RE: Re: RE: Best way to increase UVB No, that's exactly what the % means. Total % of UVB output that is useful to reptiles. It has nothing to do with the actual amount of UVB output, and one 5% 48" tube could put out far more or less than another 5% tube. Just look at ESU's 5% coil lights. They put out almost NO UVB compared to a 5% flourescent tube (any brand). All % are not equal. That's why they're %, a percentage, not a solid number. As far as Anapsid.org, I know Melissa personally and have visited her site on MANY occasions over the years. The information on mercury vapour bulbs on her site is a little less than fully accurate that has not been updated in several years. Many new bulbs have come out on the market since anything new was last published on Anapsid.org. If you want up-to-date and accurate UVB info, see the following URLs. http://www.reptileuvinfo.com/ http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/
