Uv lighting

Harley99

Member
Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
47
Location (City and/or State)
Moline Illinois
Hi all looking for some advice on what uv light you use on an indoor enclosure i will be setting it up for a russian tort if that makes any difference thanks
 

ZEROPILOT

REDFOOT WRANGLER
Moderator
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
28,938
Location (City and/or State)
South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
One more question for now can i use a regular fixture from lowes or do i need one made for the bulb
You can get, for example an inexpensive 18" tube florescent fixture from Lowes And remove the tube. Replace it with a 10.0 tube from the pet store. The whole thing should run about $30. A savings of $20-$30 off of buying the whole fixture from the pet shop.
 

zovick

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
3,387

I have been doing this hobby for 60 years plus, and have looked around plenty. I stand by my statement the LLL Reptile has just about the best prices on those bulbs. For example, LLL Reptile has the same 18" bulb priced at $26.59 in the Petco link above and the LLL Reptile price is $21.99.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,264
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Those regular 10.0 bulbs will work but they need to be mounted no more than 10-12" above the tortoise to be effective. So says my UV meter. I would also get a bulb that was closer to the length of the enclosure, which for an adult russian should be around 8 feet long by 4 feet wide. One or two 48" bulbs will serve you better than an 18".

If you need to mount the bulbs higher than that, look into the newer HO types bulbs. You'll need to buy the correct fixture for these as they are higher wattage and different lengths than standard" bulbs.

I recommend that you do not use the cfl type screw in UV bulbs. They are not all that effective as UV sources over larger areas and they sometimes burn reptile eyes.

You can get good advice and products here:
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com

And here are some more tips incase you haven't seen theses yet:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
 

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
I agree with @Tom and also buy from light your reptiles. I believe the arcadia bulbs are better and last longer than the zoo med. And @zovick the T8 10.0 is $17.99.

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-t-8-euro-range-10-18-inch-bulb-15-watt-super-sale/

I also spend a bit more on the fixture for the UVB bulbs and buy from lightyourreptiles. The qualify of fixture and in particular the type and quality of ballast is important in getting the best out of the light and will give you longer life. His bulbs are more than competitively prices, but his fixtures are quality that costs a bit more. You can get cheap fluorescent fixtures, but I believe it is not worth it with UVB producing bulbs. Perhaps that's why both Tom and I talk about getting 2 years+ out of our bulbs with good UVB output.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tom

Markw84

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
5,041
Location (City and/or State)
Sacramento, CA (Central Valley)
Hey Mark,

I actually DID mean the T8 in the price comparison I did with Petco. Guess I was a bit hasty in my post and wrote T5 by mistake. Sorry for the confusion.

Since it has come up, though, do you feel the Arcadia Desert bulbs have the same UV output as the 10.0 Zoomed bulbs? Have you compared the two?
Yes I do and I like the color balance better with the Arcadia. The UV output is simply controlled by the wattage and then the percentage. That is why I find the marketing talk of desert vs forest vs plant rather useless. To compare I simply look at the 2.0. 5.0. 10.0, or 12.0 and the wattage. And of course, HO will be stronger UV as well. So bulbs with the same percentage (10.0) and the same wattage, will put out the same amount of UV. The color balance of various bulbs do vary, though.

Arcadia also makes a remote ballast with moisture resistant clips for the tube ends. That takes the whole ballast (and its heat) out of the enclosure and you simply clip the tube inside the enclosure and can add a simple reflector. I think is currently the best fit for our enclosed chambers on the market. I am currently communicating with lightyourreptiles to see if he can carry it for us as he already deals with and imports Arcadia products. Both Tom and I have often remarked how good a useful life we also get out of these products.
 

Shaif

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2016
Messages
438
Location (City and/or State)
Pittsburgh, PA
Yes I do and I like the color balance better with the Arcadia. The UV output is simply controlled by the wattage and then the percentage. That is why I find the marketing talk of desert vs forest vs plant rather useless. To compare I simply look at the 2.0. 5.0. 10.0, or 12.0 and the wattage. And of course, HO will be stronger UV as well. So bulbs with the same percentage (10.0) and the same wattage, will put out the same amount of UV. The color balance of various bulbs do vary, though.

Arcadia also makes a remote ballast with moisture resistant clips for the tube ends. That takes the whole ballast (and its heat) out of the enclosure and you simply clip the tube inside the enclosure and can add a simple reflector. I think is currently the best fit for our enclosed chambers on the market. I am currently communicating with lightyourreptiles to see if he can carry it for us as he already deals with and imports Arcadia products. Both Tom and I have often remarked how good a useful life we also get out of these products.


Awesome. Please keep us posted about this. I'm very happy with my t5ho from Todd, but the remote ballast makes a lot of sense and will last longer for sure.
 

Sterant

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2016
Messages
693
Location (City and/or State)
Albany, NY
As for fixtures.....In my experience having a great fixture, with the proper ballast and a polished aluminum reflector can double the downward output of UV over a standard painted shop light from Home Depot or Lowe's. I have no experience with the fixtures from Lightyourreptiles.com but I have been using these AgroBrite fixtures for some time now and I get the UVI readings I want with a fixture height of 14". They are also a very high quality product that is very popular with hydroponics enthusiasts. I run them with Reptisun T5 HO 10.0 bulbs.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H1C7NA/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20
 
Top