Is this bulb ok?

Zosime · 02-27-13, 01:56 PM

I want to light up the other side of my cage and put off a little more uv its a repti sun 5.0, i was wondering if it woulf be ok to put in there because iv heard beardies will just look at the light and blind them selves and i dont want her to blind her self
Heres the tank

stephanbakir · 02-27-13, 02:00 PM

How much heat does that light put out? If I remember correctly very little, so you will also need a CHE.

ilovemypets1988 · 02-27-13, 02:00 PM

great setup, but if you tank is 2ft deep, a 5.0 will be no good as even a 10.0 will only just penetrate 2ft from what ive been told

Zosime · 02-27-13, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stephanbakir

How much heat does that light put out? If I remember correctly very little, so you will also need a CHE.

Im not looking for heat the heat is fine i just dont like how dark it is over in the side and i was wondering if it would just be good to put there for ambient lighting. Just wondering what is a CHE?

Hannibalcanibal · 02-27-13, 02:04 PM

lamps like that can cause eye damage. Use either a straight tube or a mercury vapor bulb.

stephanbakir · 02-27-13, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovemypets1988

great setup, but if you tank is 2ft deep, a 5.0 will be no good as even a 10.0 will only just penetrate 2ft from what ive been told

They don't need the uvb 24/7, beardies will get right under the lamp when they bask and soak in more then they need then.

poison123 · 02-27-13, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hannibalcanibal

lamps like that can cause eye damage. Use either a straight tube or a mercury vapor bulb.

I believe you are thinking of the coil bulbs.

Zosime · 02-27-13, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovemypets1988

great setup, but if you tank is 2ft deep, a 5.0 will be no good as even a 10.0 will only just penetrate 2ft from what ive been told

Thanks, oh well im not really looking for it to be a main source of uvb i have the other uvb that is 10.0 reptisun on the left by her basking. Id just like to have it for ambient light and i was wondering if it would be ok because iv heard bearded dragons will just look at flourscents or the spiral lights and they will blind them selves. I dont want her to do that so i was wondering if the bulb would be ok like she wont stare at it or go blind right?

murrindindi · 02-27-13, 02:15 PM

Hi, yes, the bulb is o.k as supplementary lighting, which I think is what you`re asking about (not as the main source)?
As far as the other UVB tube you have, you`ll lose some of the UVB because of the screen top.
The problems that occurred with some brands of the compact UVB bulbs were caused by them being too close to the animal when basking.
As far as the effective distance of either a 5-0 or 10-0 fluorescent tube, it`s best to have them within 30cm (12inches) or less from the surface of the animal when basking (you should be fine because the basking area is raised quite high).

ilovemypets1988 · 02-27-13, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zosime

Thanks, oh well im not really looking for it to be a main source of uvb i have the other uvb that is 10.0 reptisun on the left by her basking. Id just like to have it for ambient light and i was wondering if it would be ok because iv heard bearded dragons will just look at flourscents or the spiral lights and they will blind them selves. I dont want her to do that so i was wondering if the bulb would be ok like she wont stare at it or go blind right?

for a source of light, it should be perfectly fine, but if your in doubt, you could try puting some "tinting" plastic under the light, so that the glare is taken away and u will still get a decent amount of light

jarich · 02-27-13, 07:37 PM

The eye problems with the compacts in the past (and some cheapy ones still today) were a combination of animals being exposed to highly concentrated UVI at close distance and more importantly that the ratio was high in very short wavelength UVB (275-280 nm). This is known as "non terrestrial UVB", and even small amounts can cause eye damage (photokeratitis or photoconjunctivitis). The sunlight that filters down to us starts at a longer wavelength UVB, around 295 nm, and is necessary for many animals' biological functions.

In this case, as Stefan (murrindindi) said, the screen on your top will filter out about 30% of the UVB that light is producing. Given the fact that compacts have very steep gradient declines for UVB, its unlikely that any is going to make it to the bottom of your tank. So yes, you can use it, but you can just as easily use a regular 40 watt bulb too. Itll have the exact same effect and with the money you save you can take your friends out for a drink

Just as a side note Stefan, I got schooled the other day when I suggested the distances you noted there. I thought the same thing, but with the new High Output T5 tubes, you can push that to more than two feet (60 cm)! Im thinking of ordering some for my monitor enclosure.