Equipment Review and Discussion :: mvb vs uvb & heat

[rsour24]

whats better? ive heard a lot of talk about mvb lately

[oobie58]

MVB provides heat and UVB rays so you only need that one bulb to provide all the essential lighting for your turts- but it is only recommended for tanks 55 gallons and up. UVB is really only for the UVB rays and is for tanks smaller then 55 gallons, so you will need a separate bulb for heating your basking area.

[jwinters]

I find it cheaper to use a house bulb for heat and a uvb bulb for uvb rays.

[papoopeepoo]

I use an externally ballasted MVB from "reptileuv.com", but because the externally ballasted bulbs don't produce enough heat, I have a secondary incandescent bulb to ensure proper temps on the basking area. The reason I use the MVB bulb is for reliability (I've had bad luck in the past with coil bulbs) and for longevity. The MVB bulb I'm using now has been going for about 9 months and is guaranteed for a year minimum, as opposed to a 6 month usability lifetime for coil bulbs (if you're lucky).