General Care Discussion :: I've been bad... :(

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I've been bad... I've had a UVA light (that's what the basking bulbs are for correct?) but I have not had a UVB light in the tank thus far- I tried a regular 60 watt light bulb and I felt like it was so hot it was going to cause either the water to heat up too fast or Leo to heat up too fast on the basking dock... now I've noticed Leo isnt basking at all (as far as I know) I've been working a lot more recently so am not home during the time of day that he used to bask the most- but I placed a piece of lettuce on his dock the other day and left for work- it didn't budge! I'm off to the store today to get a new UVA bulb- as it may be getting weak- and also to pick up a UVB bulb and lamp! So my question is- with a 75 gallon tank what wattage of lighting should I get for both UVA and UVB? how far should I place them from the dock? and also, with a 75 gallon would I be able to look into the combo lights? I thought I remembered reading somewhere that they were too powerful for smaller tanks- maybe not a 75 gallon though? Also will the change in lighting (stronger UVA light and bringing in the new UVB light) entice him to bask again? (p.s. the temp in the tank is between 76-78 degrees and he seems very healthy)

I was going to look into getting a new filter while I was at the store as well- I want to get a waterfall filter and place it just right so that he kind of gets a little waterfall area in his tank- I know I was told turtles could care less about water falls but I can't stand the filter I have now (fluval 4plus- I believe?) any suggestions on a good filter for a 75 gallon- and a very messy turtle?

also (a little side question) Leo is about 6 months old now- the nails haven't started growing at all and the tail is still very short- still too soon to assume female? lol

[grey goose]

For the UVB, get a 5.0 (5% UVB). Position it between 8-12" from the basking area. Do you have a thermometer to measure and adjust the distance of your heat lamp to read about 90F where Leo basks?
As far as filters, I say get an XP3.
They say you really can't figure out what sex your turt is until they pass the 4" SCL mark.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

Ah ha! I've gotta get a new thermometer too- any suggestions on a good one to read for the basking dock temp? right now I have just a plain jane thermometer to measure the water temp and randomly i'll put a rock on Leo's dock and place that on top to see if the temp is right! I'd like to have one on there constantly so I can check it more regularly though!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I use a digital thermometer to check the basking temps,id say go with that.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Since you have a 75 gal tank, you can go with one of those high-powered Mercury Vapor MVB lights that have a good amount of UVA & UVB. They come in 100W & up. I have the Powersun UV, but others on this board have bought the T-Rex brand as well & say it is more powerful.

The Powersun UV 100W (which is what I have) seems to work well in terms of UVB, but I am thinking I am going to hook up my additional UVA light to generate more heat for Sheba. It doesn't give off as much heat as I thought it was going to. Just my experience. Good luck with this!

[JNZBCBnLIL]

industrial girl- do you think the people at the petstore will be able to let me know which ones are combo lights... because i'm pretty awful with this UVA/UVB stuff?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

It shouldnt be to hard to find,if anything ask an employee can you please direct me to the MVB (both heat and UVB) or UVB(just UVB,no heat) bulbs? But dont get anything else that they suggest,meaning dont get fooled into buying something that they say is OK make sure the box says "UVB" and if its a MVB bulb that your shopping for make sure it says "UVB" and "UVA"


One time i was shopping for a UVB bulb and i asked a pet supermarket employee " do you have UVB bulbs? Like the ones for reptiles to bask under?" The guy quickly said "yeah,we do..here ill show you" and he handed me a UVA spot lamp.And i was like,uhh i need UVB..not UVA..and he said,oh well it does both and i pointed out "Provides UVA not UVB" on the label of the box,and he was like..oh well we dont have them then.

[mkoby]

I believe there is the T-Rex UV Heat and ZooMed Powersun. Both come in 100 watt and 160 watt.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

so UVA is technically just a heat source? see this is the part where I get so confused... UVA helps with the digestion, gives them heat, and helps their shells dry and stay healthy and strong- correct? what does UVB do then?

[mkoby]

UVA is the heat source and allows them to dry out. UVB helps with digestion, calcium, vitamin D3, etc.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

O no... so he's been without his source of digestion, calcium, and vitamin D3 since we got him... I feel terrible now!! where does he get vitamin D3 from? I give him cuttlebone for calcium!

[grey goose]

They get the D3 from the pellets.......The UVB helps them to absorb it.

[Pizza]

You're pretty safe for an MVB bulb, it's recommended that your tank be a minimum of 55 gallons to use one, and since you have a 75 G, it's fine, just measure the temperature when you get your bulb.

Some common sense I thought I'd add to helping find an MVB bulb. Two things:

an MVB bulb is a much larger bulb than the average lamp bulb or incandescent, the box of it should be 2x to 3x the size of the box of a single incandescent, and when you open it up, it's shaped like a flood lamp, or a large wide diameter light area that curves down and in, kind of like a mushroom (sort of).

2nd point, MVB bulbs are significantly more expensive than a regular UVA or UVB bulb. They can cost more than 2x that of a UVB bulb actually, up here the prices for a 10.0 UVB compact bulb was 22 CDN, while a Powersun MVB was 75-80 CDN (I forgot exact price), but I see that the US often has things priced lower, so...

With all that taken into account, like what the others said, check that it is an MVB on the box and the employee (just to be sure), and the two most common brands are the Powersun and T-Rex, so yeah.

[da sAUCE!]

actually RES produce Vitamin D3 in their system, similar to the way we synthesize Vitamin E in our skin when we are exposed to sunlight.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I ended up with something called a Super UV- coil lamp? it says on the box that is has "optimal amounts of UVA and UVB rays" "Ideal for Basking Reptiles"

I didn't see any of the other products mentioned... maybe I'm looking in the wrong place but maybe this light will work! Right now I'm testing out my digital thermometer on the basking dock to see if it brings the temps up to 90 degrees!!

anyone know anything about this kind of light?