Has anyone ever used this lighting fixture?

[Dogdayz1215]

I am making my plans for an enclosure build. I ran across this when searching for lighting fixtures. Anyone ever used this?

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[PatsyB]

Never seen it before. You want your UVB to span 2/3'rds of the length of the tank with your basking light overlapping at a certain point. This looks like too much light in one spot.

 

[Dogdayz1215]

Hmmm......I see what you are saying. I thought it looked like I could throw a repti sun t10 in there and maybe not use the second "port". Wonder if anyone else has seen/used this.

The reason I'm asking.....I'm wanting to mount my uvb light to the roof of my enclosure....spanning at least 2/3 the length like mentioned. My enclosure will be opening from the front and I plan on placing a basking lamp on top (to shine through a screen in the roof....like the sun )

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[PatsyB]

I would go with a T5 fixture since it's slim and won't take up a whole lot of space at the top of your tank.

 

[BeardedHippy]

Not sure I like the look of it, looks just like the type you get for fish tanks/ aquariums. You could use 1 bulb in it, but its surely more efficient to buy a single rail ballast. I use the Arcadia slimline T5 canopy, they are the top end of the market but amazing quality. I think having a good reflector is almost as important as having good bulbs, they will massively increase the efficiency of your bulbs focusing your light exactly where you need it.
My tanks are the same size as the one you are building and the ballance of light is perfect combined with an Arcadia Halogen basking spot.
I control my temperature by running both through a microclimate controller.

 

[Dogdayz1215]

Not sure I like the look of it, looks just like the type you get for fish tanks/ aquariums. You could use 1 bulb in it, but its surely more efficient to buy a single rail ballast. I use the Arcadia slimline T5 canopy, they are the top end of the market but amazing quality. I think having a good reflector is almost as important as having good bulbs, they will massively increase the efficiency of your bulbs focusing your light exactly where you need it.
My tanks are the same size as the one you are building and the ballance of light is perfect combined with an Arcadia Halogen basking spot.
I control my temperature by running both through a microclimate controller.

I hadn't even thought about the reflector part! I'm having a hard time finding the brand you mentioned but I'll keep looking. Thanks for the help!

 

[BeardedHippy]

wow, you are right, I just spent an hour looking at US sites and cant find my fixture, they all seem to be fancy over tank models, though the bulbs themselves seem readily available. I did think Arcadia was an American company , but its based in the UK. I saw one on Ebay US, but it was being sold in the UK (fine if you dont mind waiting a week or 2 for delivery)
You could try throwing http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ an email and ask them, they seem to have the best selection ive seen so far.
Even if you have to use a different fixture, I would still recommend the Arcadia T5 tubes. They have a better balance of UVA+B and are 100% shielded from UVC ,plus they have almost double the lifespan of others (1 year before you will need to change tube, compared to 6 months for some ohers)
You could buy a cheaper ballast and make your own reflector if you cant find anything suitable

 

[BeardedHippy]

oh , there they are
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/fixtures/t5-high-output/

 

[Dogdayz1215]

Awesome. Thank you. I'll see what my budget allows. The ones with the daylight bulb and uv bulb.......that daylight bulb isn't a basking bulb right?

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[Dogdayz1215]

Awesome. Thank you. I'll see what my budget allows. The ones with the daylight bulb and uv bulb.......that daylight bulb isn't a basking bulb right?

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Nm.....I just read the description. Looks like they use 2 uv bulbs for max output.

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[BeardedHippy]

no, the single tube ones. Daylight bulbs are full spectrum, you need the T5. 34 inch will cover 2/3s of your tank and give a good overlap with your basking bulb of choice. They are a bit more expensive, but I think its worth saving up the bit extra for the quality

http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/34-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

High output UV bulbs like these also help with D3 production