UVB fitting for closed chamber - proper IP-level for humidity?

Reptilian Feline

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Sorry if this explained somewhere else. If so, just point me to the thread.

I'm planning a larger closed chamber setup for my tiny leo once I feel I can move him from his hospital box. The enclosure will be a plastic bin with a plastic lid, the kind I can buy easily here in Sweden.

I have a setup with a CHE that's on at night, and a basking flood light with heat and UVA on at day. Both are adjusted with dimmers so it doesn't get too hot, and timers for when to be on.
The new setup will need UVB as well, and since that can't be on a dimmer, I will need to use a UVB light that doesn't give much heat, so a tube light is needed, I guess. I'm planning to put in a thermostat to control the heat from the CHE and basking light, a dimmable thermostat for smoother working, and the ablitiy to use a regular light bulb for basking and daytime heat (the CHE won't be on a timer when I have the thermostat).

I need a proper fixture for the UVB light, one that can handle 90+ humidity. I can make a hole in the plastic lid and put the fixture over the hole, or mount it on the inside, but since the light will be without cover, the fixture needs to handle humidity without blowing s circuit. Bathroom fixtures and outside fixtures both have plastic covers, but I can't have those in place, so will the fixture still work if I remove that? I've seen some with IP 65 classifications that come in smaller sizes as well.

Any alternatives? I know coiled is bad, but what about those that looks like a U? It might be easier to fit one of those inside sideways.
 

Markw84

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I would highly recommend the remote ballast and the UVB tube to go with it, by Arcadia.

I wish this was available in the US. But it is only available in a 220V European fixture. It is perfect for what you are describing as the ballast is separate with wiring that goes to the moisture-proof caps that go onto the fluorescent tube. So it is only the tube itself with the caps on the ends that go into the enclosure. No heat from the ballast inside!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...lpage_o00_s00?tag=skim0x20283-21&ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arcadia-FD...35194&sr=8-2&keywords=arcadia+light+tube&th=1
 

Tom

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Just another note on something in your post: I would not run the basking bulb on a thermostat. The sun shouldn't turn on and off all day. Use your rheostat to adjust the basking temperature, or you can raise or lower the bulb as needed.
 

Reptilian Feline

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Tom - there are thermostats that are dimmable, maybe I'm using the wrong words. The thermostat will lower or raise the temp like a rheostat (dimmer) but will only work with regular bulbs and CHEs... something like this: http://www.krybdyrsiden.dk/habistat-termostater/648-habistat-dimming-high-range-termostat.html (page in Danish).

Mark - Arcadia pops up everywhere as a good brand. I'll try and find the kind you linked to, if it's available in Sweden or Denmark, if not, then Amazon it will be.
 

Markw84

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@tortdad - isn't there a risk of electrocution with really high humidity when the fixture isn't grounded?

IN Europe, a lot of fixtures are all 220 volt. Different than US fixtures. I would stay with the Arcadia we talked about above. Not only much better ballasts that will produce better light and life out of your bulb, but designed to be in aquarium applications for very high, even 100% humidity applications. Also keeping the ballast out of the enclosure will allow you to control temps much, much better.

Tom - there are thermostats that are dimmable, maybe I'm using the wrong words. The thermostat will lower or raise the temp like a rheostat (dimmer) but will only work with regular bulbs and CHEs... something like this: http://www.krybdyrsiden.dk/habistat-termostater/648-habistat-dimming-high-range-termostat.html (page in Danish).
.

@Tom 's point is valid. A "thermostat" is for turning a heat source (or light) on and off. A rheostat is for "dimming" a light or heat source to a certain set point and then maintaining that same strength.

If it is a thermostat, it will turn whatever you have plugged in to it on and off. There are different ways they do that: switch, pulse, or proportional. The "dimmable" should be a proportional type. All that means is when the temperature reaches close to your set point, it will grandually decrease the power to the heat source, "dimming" it until the set point is reached. If temperatures go above the set point, it will be "dimmed" totally off. You are still setting up a device that will turn things on and off as the temperature rises and falls.
 

Reptilian Feline

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I've just read through a PDF from Habistrat on the dimmable thermostat. It says that the power is turned up and down depending on the heat settings and placement of the sensor. The power isn't turned off, it is held at a low power. I guess it does automatically using a sensor, what I do every day when I check the heat and turn the knob up or down on the dimmer.
 

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