Habitat - Indoor :: Light Strength

[Darkdream]

Hey so actually i just figured out i have a 20 gallon tank..... how strong of a light bulb will i need.... I bought a zoo med repti basking bulb 100W but i found it to be to strong..... I am going to be using two bulbs one for heating, one for UVB(The esu Coil bulb 20W for 19.99 at petsmart)... I am thinking of exchanging the the basking bulb to a 50W will this provide sufficient heat for my turtle....

And ALso i heard you can get UVA from a standard light bulb.... is this correct..... what is UVA exactly?? JUst Heat??

[cam722]

You can use a regular household lightbulb for heat. No need to go through the expense of a heat lamp. I have a 60w bulb in my 75 gallon tank.. Maybe try a 40w. The good thing about using regular lightbulbs is if the wattage is too much or too little, you can easily change it and its not expensive

[Darkdream]

so you can get UVA rays from a standard light bulb??

[marisa]

I wouldn't worry about your turtle not getting enough UVA rays (even the coil lamp gives off some), it's the UVB rays that you want to pay more attention to. The regular lightbulb is fine for heat and UVA as well.

[TexasJagsFan]

I use a 60 watt bulb, I have it placed six inches and the basking area stays around 92.