General Care Discussion :: Repti Glo...

[marisa]

A 2.0% UVB is inadquate as a sole source of UVB. 3% is the minimal amount that would be effective, and this should ideally be supplemented with unfiltered sunlight, if possible. With a 5% UVB light, I'd have it 6-8 inches from the basking turtle.

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

thats exactly what i have.... i havent even had it for 6 months and it las blown out... WONT WORK!! on the box it says it good for a year

[marisa]

Conventional flourescent lights should be replaced every 6-8 months even if they are still lighting even though the box says they're good for a year. The UVB output lessens with use, and if you're starting out with say, 3% to begin with, the UVB strength would be minimal, if anything.

[powerofvoodoo]

thats exactly what i have.... i havent even had it for 6 months and it las blown out... WONT WORK!! on the box it says it good for a year

Mine blew out after a month, breaking my lamp in the process. And the one I got in the mail yesterday blew out the second I turned it on.
I wouldn't mind, if they weren't so darn expensive.
But I think it means that the UVB is good for about a year, not that it's guaranteed to last a year.

[DavidY]

If you look at some of the independant studies that have been done on a wide variety of these types of bulbs you will see that the level of UVB generated drops off significantly and steadily over time. As Marisa said, after about 6 to 8 months most of these bulbs are generating very little UVB although there is some, but most likely not enough to be of much use to the turtles. I've actually seen some manufacturers specify that the bulbs should be replaced after 6 months while others say a year. With the mercury vapor bulbs you can definitely get a year or more of good use out of them since they are so much stronger to begin with.

[powerofvoodoo]

Not that I currently have a UVB bulb in my tank or anything, but is there a way you can tell when the bulb is generating little UVB, or do you just have to gauge it by time?

[DavidY]

The only way to tell is with a UVB meter unfortunately. The bulb will still continue to generate light even when the UVB has dropped below minimal levels. The best way to know when to replace your bulbs is to mark the date on them with a permanent marker when you first begin using them. That's what I do with my flourescent bulbs. For my MVB bulbs I have a white board in my herp room where I keep track of the dates of the different bulbs in the different setups so I can know when to replace them.

[powerofvoodoo]

Ok thanks. I figured there wasn't going to be a way to look and actually tell, I was just hoping I was wrong.