Need help with lighting
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:51 pmI am going to be adopting a res soon. How many watts should a UVA bulb and how many watts should a UVB bulb be if I put them together in the turtles basking area?
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Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 8:51 pmRe: Need help with lighting
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 9:44 pmThe best idea is usually to get a combination UVA/UVB bulb. Depending on the area you are keeping them on, their basking area might also need a heat bulb. The ideal basking temp is high 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit, not Celcius. Since UVA/UVB don't give heat, wattage isn't a big issue. As for a heat bulb. I have a 50 watt for my boy and that keeps his basking area in the high 80s. I hope that helps!
Re: Need help with lighting
Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 11:24 pmYou have a couple of options, but it ultimately comes down to what is most convenient for your situation.
Jade already mentioned the first option: Having separate UV and heat lights. Depending on how big your UV bulb is, you're dealing with 20-50 watts, with wattage increasing as your fluorescent tube gets longer. There are also some compact fluorescents (CFL's) that are usually around 13-26W. In addition to a UV bulb, you're going to need an incandescent bulb (you don't need the special PetSmart bulbs, just go and get one from the hardware store). Depending on how close your basking spot is to the light, that will usually be around 40-60W. This kind of setup will save you wattage, but requires more creativity in how you set up the basking area. (Due to the fact that you'll have two fixtures to deal with).
The second option takes up more wattage, but saves a lot of space. For 100-160W, you can buy a mercury vapor bulb (MVB). It has all your UV and heat in one bulb.
Something important to note is that both types of lighting setups require a "burn-in" period during their first day or two (more like two) days of use, in which they are a little over-zealous in their UV output and must be monitored closely (to ensure they're not damaging your turtle's eyes or otherwise bothering it. CFL's have been known to do this frequently).
My advice would be: 1) Decide which kind of lighting setup you want within the next day or two, 2) Buy (or order) the lights you want, even if your tank isn't ready, and 3) turn on the lights for 13 hours a day (turned off at night) for 2-3 days until you get your RES. This should minimize issues with the burn-in period, and makes it so that you don't have to monitor/stress out your turtle as much when it finally arrives. (Note: This is assuming that your RES won't be here for a few days, if not a week). Best of luck to you!
Jade already mentioned the first option: Having separate UV and heat lights. Depending on how big your UV bulb is, you're dealing with 20-50 watts, with wattage increasing as your fluorescent tube gets longer. There are also some compact fluorescents (CFL's) that are usually around 13-26W. In addition to a UV bulb, you're going to need an incandescent bulb (you don't need the special PetSmart bulbs, just go and get one from the hardware store). Depending on how close your basking spot is to the light, that will usually be around 40-60W. This kind of setup will save you wattage, but requires more creativity in how you set up the basking area. (Due to the fact that you'll have two fixtures to deal with).
The second option takes up more wattage, but saves a lot of space. For 100-160W, you can buy a mercury vapor bulb (MVB). It has all your UV and heat in one bulb.
Something important to note is that both types of lighting setups require a "burn-in" period during their first day or two (more like two) days of use, in which they are a little over-zealous in their UV output and must be monitored closely (to ensure they're not damaging your turtle's eyes or otherwise bothering it. CFL's have been known to do this frequently).
My advice would be: 1) Decide which kind of lighting setup you want within the next day or two, 2) Buy (or order) the lights you want, even if your tank isn't ready, and 3) turn on the lights for 13 hours a day (turned off at night) for 2-3 days until you get your RES. This should minimize issues with the burn-in period, and makes it so that you don't have to monitor/stress out your turtle as much when it finally arrives. (Note: This is assuming that your RES won't be here for a few days, if not a week). Best of luck to you!
Re: Need help with lighting
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:52 pmJeremiah wrote:Something important to note is that both types of lighting setups require a "burn-in" period during their first day or two (more like two) days of use, in which they are a little over-zealous in their UV output and must be monitored closely (to ensure they're not damaging your turtle's eyes or otherwise bothering it. CFL's have been known to do this frequently).
Jeremiah, How do you know of this "burn-in" period? Do you have a link or source so that i can read up on it a bit more? Is it measurable (the UV output)? And how do you recommend "monitoring" for damage?
I'm trying to find out as much as i can about proper/improper UVA/UVB lighting.
Thanks.
Re: Need help with lighting
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:45 pmOur link: viewtopic.php?t=11796
Link to case study: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-cases.htm
Link to case study: http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-cases.htm
Re: Need help with lighting
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:46 pmThanks Steve. I had just found this while trying to find out more about UV light for turtles. Interesting read
Re: Need help with lighting
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:24 amIt was a pretty stressful ordeal. It just didn't immediately come to us what was going on, and a lot of us spent money on vets who also didn't know what was going on.