Crush da Baum
Well-Known Member
Are normal fixtures from hardware stores ok to use with a UVB bulb?
Uvb Fixture
- Thread starter Crush da Baum
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A good distinction to make. IMO tubes are better than bulbs. Bulbs are usually also applying heat, while tubes are primarily used for illumination. Heat should be on a thermostat, light on a timer.
No matter where you buy from the fixture and bulb/tube, they have to match.
If you meant tubes in the first place, like the long glass tube light with 'pins' on each end. The tube and the fixture have to match for length and watts. T5, T8 and T12 fixtures and tubes provide the best return on lighting and cost. T5 HO (which mean the tubes are 5.8 inch in diameter and the fixture is 'high output') is the better of all the tubes type lights and are shorter than a standard tube fixture (T5 not HO, T8 and T12), this helps consumers not mix them up when matching tubes to fixtures.
The primary suppliers of these tubes is ZooMed and Arcadia. There is a Facebook group called 'Reptile Lighting' with one moderator/contributor that is the leading authority on these matters. That group's consensus is that the Arcadia are slightly better tubes, and that company has manufactured its own fixture/reflector that optimizes the light for UVB and UVA transmittance into the enclosure.
Here are a few vendors of these products
I buy from Reptile Basics because IMO their customer service is great.
I have used other reflectors for the T5 HO tubes sold for indoor plant growers like SunBlaster and SunBlaze, they are a bit less expensive, but use a different shaped reflector that optimizes for plant growth, not reptile UVB/UVA exposure. One TFO contributor @Markw84 has posted color enhanced diagrams of the spread of light from these different fixture to help people visualize the difference. Maybe he'll link that post into a comment?
No matter where you buy from the fixture and bulb/tube, they have to match.
If you meant tubes in the first place, like the long glass tube light with 'pins' on each end. The tube and the fixture have to match for length and watts. T5, T8 and T12 fixtures and tubes provide the best return on lighting and cost. T5 HO (which mean the tubes are 5.8 inch in diameter and the fixture is 'high output') is the better of all the tubes type lights and are shorter than a standard tube fixture (T5 not HO, T8 and T12), this helps consumers not mix them up when matching tubes to fixtures.
The primary suppliers of these tubes is ZooMed and Arcadia. There is a Facebook group called 'Reptile Lighting' with one moderator/contributor that is the leading authority on these matters. That group's consensus is that the Arcadia are slightly better tubes, and that company has manufactured its own fixture/reflector that optimizes the light for UVB and UVA transmittance into the enclosure.
Here are a few vendors of these products
Home - Arcadia Reptile
App Controlled Lighting System Smart systems with you in control Transforming Reptile Care for 20 Years specialists in reptile lighting, heating & nutrition Lighting Guide Feeding Programme Optimised52 Freshly Pressed Tortoise Food Twin Halogen Flood Inspire natural basking, powerful, quickly...
www.arcadiareptile.com
Arcadia UV-B Lights
ReptiLighting offers Arcadia Reptile lighting, as well as major brands bulbs, like Exo-Terra & Zoo-Med. We take pride in the quality of lights we sell, if there is an issue with your Reptile's Lighting, give our expert Customer Service team a call, and we can recommend the UV-B levels you need.
reptilighting.com
I buy from Reptile Basics because IMO their customer service is great.
I have used other reflectors for the T5 HO tubes sold for indoor plant growers like SunBlaster and SunBlaze, they are a bit less expensive, but use a different shaped reflector that optimizes for plant growth, not reptile UVB/UVA exposure. One TFO contributor @Markw84 has posted color enhanced diagrams of the spread of light from these different fixture to help people visualize the difference. Maybe he'll link that post into a comment?
If you're using a Mercury Vapor Bulb for UVB, then you must buy a fixture with a ceramic base, not a Bakelite base (dark brown plastic like). The MVB gets too hot to keep in a Bakelite fixture. ANd yes, you can buy your ceramic based fixture at the hardware store - much cheaper than specialty reptile lights.
Bakelite fixture:
Ceramic fixture:
Bakelite fixture:
Ceramic fixture:
Please note that both of these photos are of clamp fixtures. Clamps are not recommended because they regularly fail and the lamp falls... it could easily start a fire.
You need the same type of holder, but one that you can hang from a rack or lamp stand i stead of a clamp.
I remove the clamps and hang them by the dome
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Just in case you're still not sure...if you are referring to the fluorescent tube type bulb, no. The hardware store reflector will not be the proper shape for a tortoise. It also will not reflect as well.
If you are referring to a screw in type of UVB bulb, yes, you can use hardware from the hardware store, as long as it is ceramic.
However, we do not recommend screw in bulbs for UV. For multiple reasons, they are not good to use. You want the tube.
@Crush da Baum
The fluorescent tube type UVB can go in a regular hardware store fitting. It looks like this
The Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) type co,bines basking heat and UVB and gets very hot. It needs a special ceramic fitting so it doesn’t melt it. It looks like this.
The compact UVB looks like these. It regularly causes eye problems in tortoises and we advise that you do not use them.
The fluorescent tube type UVB can go in a regular hardware store fitting. It looks like this
The Mercury Vapor Bulb (MVB) type co,bines basking heat and UVB and gets very hot. It needs a special ceramic fitting so it doesn’t melt it. It looks like this.
The compact UVB looks like these. It regularly causes eye problems in tortoises and we advise that you do not use them.
Crush da Baum
Well-Known Member
Thx, I have a t5 10.0 zoo med bulb so that will be nice.
I would definitely recommend against using a hardware store fixture for a UVB fluorescent tube. The ballast needs to be matched for the design of the tube or the life and output of the tube will be different. The type and design of the reflector greatly affects the amount of UVB at tortoise level and will be drastically different from one fixture to the next using the same tube.
Most T5 UVB bulbs for reptiles are HO tubes. PUtting them in a regular T5 fixture from the hardware store will cause them to burn much differently and the output will not be anywhere near what they are designed to produce and the guides on the box as to distance will be way off. It will also probably shorten the life of the bulb.
A fluorescent tube is not like an incadescent bulb that simply draws a specific wattage (power) regardless of the capacity of the fixture it is screwed into. With fluorescent and most particularly, specialty light emitting fluorescent like UVB bulbs, the ballast must be matched and tuned to the type and desired output needed for that specific bulb. Ballasts vary tremendously and most hardware fixtures have relatively cheap and lower performing ballasts that will not produce the UV levels you are after.
Most T5 UVB bulbs for reptiles are HO tubes. PUtting them in a regular T5 fixture from the hardware store will cause them to burn much differently and the output will not be anywhere near what they are designed to produce and the guides on the box as to distance will be way off. It will also probably shorten the life of the bulb.
A fluorescent tube is not like an incadescent bulb that simply draws a specific wattage (power) regardless of the capacity of the fixture it is screwed into. With fluorescent and most particularly, specialty light emitting fluorescent like UVB bulbs, the ballast must be matched and tuned to the type and desired output needed for that specific bulb. Ballasts vary tremendously and most hardware fixtures have relatively cheap and lower performing ballasts that will not produce the UV levels you are after.
As do I. Great minds and all that
. So now we've got all these clamps laying around. What to use em for?
I use them all the time in my wood working projects, fence building, shed building, etc.As do I. Great minds and all that
DUH?! Well aren't you the handy one. Thanks for the ideas.
- Joined
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- South of Southern California, but not Mexico
That's 5/8 of an inch not 5.8 inches
A good distinction to make. IMO tubes are better than bulbs. Bulbs are usually also applying heat, while tubes are primarily used for illumination. Heat should be on a thermostat, light on a timer.
No matter where you buy from the fixture and bulb/tube, they have to match.
If you meant tubes in the first place, like the long glass tube light with 'pins' on each end. The tube and the fixture have to match for length and watts. T5, T8 and T12 fixtures and tubes provide the best return on lighting and cost. T5 HO (which mean the tubes are 5.8 inch in diameter and the fixture is 'high output') is the better of all the tubes type lights and are shorter than a standard tube fixture (T5 not HO, T8 and T12), this helps consumers not mix them up when matching tubes to fixtures.
The primary suppliers of these tubes is ZooMed and Arcadia. There is a Facebook group called 'Reptile Lighting' with one moderator/contributor that is the leading authority on these matters. That group's consensus is that the Arcadia are slightly better tubes, and that company has manufactured its own fixture/reflector that optimizes the light for UVB and UVA transmittance into the enclosure.
Here are a few vendors of these products
Home - Arcadia Reptile
App Controlled Lighting System Smart systems with you in control Transforming Reptile Care for 20 Years specialists in reptile lighting, heating & nutrition Lighting Guide Feeding Programme Optimised52 Freshly Pressed Tortoise Food Twin Halogen Flood Inspire natural basking, powerful, quickly...www.arcadiareptile.comArcadia UV-B Lights
ReptiLighting offers Arcadia Reptile lighting, as well as major brands bulbs, like Exo-Terra & Zoo-Med. We take pride in the quality of lights we sell, if there is an issue with your Reptile's Lighting, give our expert Customer Service team a call, and we can recommend the UV-B levels you need.reptilighting.com
I buy from Reptile Basics because IMO their customer service is great.
I have used other reflectors for the T5 HO tubes sold for indoor plant growers like SunBlaster and SunBlaze, they are a bit less expensive, but use a different shaped reflector that optimizes for plant growth, not reptile UVB/UVA exposure. One TFO contributor @Markw84 has posted color enhanced diagrams of the spread of light from these different fixture to help people visualize the difference. Maybe he'll link that post into a comment?
Crush da Baum
Well-Known Member
By the way, are you able to put a 100 watt heat bulb into a lamp from the hardware store that is rated for 150?
