does the fixture matter as much as the bulb?

[CourtneyAndCarl]

I first got a fixture + light bulb made by Zilla. Then I looked into it and sure enough, the UVB bulbs made by Zilla are just as bad as the rest of the light bulbs they sell. So, I returned it and am planning on getting a 24" Zoomed Reptisun 10.0

I am planning on putting this in an old 30" fish tank light that I have lying around from an old tank that I don't use anymore. I don't know how old it is or what kind of ballast it is, but it works fine and I believe it was probably quite expensive when it was bought 10 or so years ago. Is the quality or age of the fixture going to limit the UVB output?

 

[StudentoftheReptile]

For standard tube florescents? not really. If it will fit that size bulb (24") it should be rated for that size/wattage/volts.
---------------
The issue lies with incandescent fixtures (the "screw-in" socket dome fixtures). You want to make sure the lamp is rated for the wattage: i.e. you don't want to plug a 125 watt mercury vapor bulb into a tiny gooseneck lamp only rated for 60 watts.

Also, you only want to use fixtures with ceramic/porcelain sockets for ceramic heat emitters.

 

[NudistApple]

As long as it is the appropriate wattage, I can't imagine that it matters too much.
Certainly they do make some florescent fixtures that reflect and magnify the UVB output better than others (or at least claim to) but that would be about it.

 

[jaizei]

I first got a fixture + light bulb made by Zilla. Then I looked into it and sure enough, the UVB bulbs made by Zilla are just as bad as the rest of the light bulbs they sell. So, I returned it and am planning on getting a 24" Zoomed Reptisun 10.0

I am planning on putting this in an old 30" fish tank light that I have lying around from an old tank that I don't use anymore. I don't know how old it is or what kind of ballast it is, but it works fine and I believe it was probably quite expensive when it was bought 10 or so years ago. Is the quality or age of the fixture going to limit the UVB output?

Does the ballast have a label on it? That should tell you what lamps it was made to work with.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

The fixture is rated for up to 20 watts, 120 volts, and 20 hertz.

The Reptisun 10 bulb is 18 watts, says amazon, but I don't know about anything else. But if it fits into all of those qualifications, then it's okay to use this fixture?

 

[jaizei]

Does it say T-8 or T-12?

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

It doesn't say but I believe it's T8, since that's pretty standard for fish tank lights.

 

[NudistApple]

It's almost definitely T8. T5 is the other common one, and they are pretty obviously small.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Are the reptisun bulbs T8?

And I WISH I had T5 lights for my fish tank, maybe my plants would actually grow -_-

 

[jaizei]

But 10+ years ago, T-12 were common. And 24" T-12s were 20 watt.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Oh.... hmm, it actually doesn't say...

 

[jaizei]

Is there a part number on the ballast? or can you upload a picture?

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

but I just compared the bulb that is currently in it to a known T8 bulb and the bulb in this one was a little thicker but the two metal prongs on each side were the same distance away from each other as the T8 bulb.

 

[jaizei]

So the bulb is bigger than a T-8? A T-8 is 1", a T-12 is 1 1/2" in diameter. The 'prongs' are the same.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Haha, sorry... the bulb is a T12 I guess, then.

 

[Jacqui]

You learn some interesting things in threads that didn't sound like they were pan out to be much. No offense meant by that Courtney.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

Haha. I was gonna go out and buy a new T8 one but the only one I could find, which came with a T8 bulb, is the exact same thing as the one I have, down to the voltage alloted. The newer one also didn't specifically say anywhere on it that it was for T8 bulbs.... and now that I think about it, mine does flicker just a little bit with the bulb it has in it now... I am going to try out this one before I throw $40 on a new fixture if I don't need one.