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Hey everyone,

I was talking to someone who says you can buy a bulb that emits UVB rays and heat (and by heat, I mean a signifigant amount that will actually give off enough heat needed to bask). Are these things real, or just something too good to be true? I've never heard of them and it seems like something too good to be true but since you're all such experts I thought i'd ask here. I've never seen anything like it online and it's definitely not sold in petstores...

Someone please tell me this exists!!!

Hi,mostly i would say those uvb light are made for desert reptile and might need to be farther away from your turtles.

As of myself i bought an megaray but it actually ended being 20 inch away and i had to use an halogen bulb for the heat.But since its cold in here (17c in the house) it affect a lot the temperature needed.

You should give a try to mercury vapor,its way more efficient then tube .

I think Sull was trying to say: Self-Balasted Mercury Vapor Bulbs, (MVBs) emit both heat and UVB light, and are very good bulbs, assuming a few things:

a.) You can put it at minimum 12" away from the basking area
b.) The bulb/fixture are not frequently moved or jostled
c.) You have the ~$50 to pay for one.

The deal is they produce LOTS of heat and LOTS of UVB, so the normal range you need one from the basking area is 12-18 inches, depending on how hot you need the basking area.

Second, the self-ballasted bulbs (there's another variety called "externally ballasted", but they produce no useful amount of heat) have a filament in them that is relatively fragile, so if you're moving the light fixture a lot, there's a good chance it'll break & you'll have a broken $50 lightbulb.

The cost isn't TOO extreme, but usually more than you'll pay for another UVB light. This is generally offset by the quality and extended useful lifespan of a MVB compared to another flourescent that probably outputs less UVB to start with, and will lower it's output more quickly.

SO it sounds like what you were discussing is a MVB, but whether or not you will get a lot of use out of an MVB depends on your setup & how much you want to invest.

I have a T-Rex Mercury Vapor bulb. It's an all-in-one bulb. Produces heat and UVA/UVB. The thing is that it's more expensive than a a tube but they last much longer. The thing is that they require a strong dome to hold it. I use a large 12 inch dome rated for 120 watts while my bulb uses 100 watts.

I also use a MVB. It works much better for my set up (a 75 gallon) than 2 separate bulbs did. My turtle actually started basking more after the change.

Thanks so much guys!!! I have a 100gal tank as of now and i'm just trying to limit the amount of lights I have to use. I have someone coming to build a canopy and stand for the tank and I don't think there will be room for all those lights. From what you lot have told me, it seems like the MVB is the best way to go.

Where can you buy them??

You can buy them from almost any online reptile store. Here's a link to the MVB I use. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=7327
Here's a MegaRay MVB, I think a lot of users on this forums think it's better then the T-Rex. http://www.reptileuv.com/megaray-products.php
A 100 watt bulb is fine, but you'll need a dome like this. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... le+Heating
Not that but something like it. I would suggest one that you hang since it has to be 12 inches above the basking area.

Thanks n00bEmpty

Wow, thx to this post, i know how far my UVB 5.0 should be, was 7-8 inches, now it's 12-15 inches far...

felix, I don't know what 5.0 you're using, but if you've had no problems with the bulb at 7 - 8 inches, I'd keep it that way. There's no comparison between a 5.0 and a mercury vapor bulb.

but since i put it far, my turtles bask more often, i think my basking lamp too near as well, too hot for them...

At the reptile store i shope at normaly

they do have a bulb/fixture combo that costs 49$

it would be alot easier sure and maybe sometime in the future i can pick it up

buuuut unfortunatly you gota pay decent money for the fancy stuff haha