General Care Discussion :: Question about lighting and question about cleaning filters.

[kikicool]

Hi all! Okay, so first question of the day:

1. I was reading another thread earlier and was interrupted by my contractor. But someone (spotsmama?) mentioned that her turtles became more active when she used UVA bulbs in the basking lamps. Well. All this time, I've been using just regular house lightbulbs! Is there a certain type of bulb that I should have bought instead? I will buy it if so.

2. So, I have an aquaclear 110. A waterfall filter. sometimes the filter tubes get clogged and I like to clean it out. But every time I remove the tubes to do so, all the gunk comes flying into the tank. Is there a way to remove these without this happening?

Thanks to all who have any ideas!!

[BullDog]

1. I think a regular bulb is fine, but I'll let someone else comment on that.
2. I used to have the aquaclear 50 (or 70?) and I would take the whole unit off the back of the tank and clean it in the laundryroom sink, and I never had a problem with gunk going back into tank.

[steve]

Regular household light bulbs provide some amount of UVA, but you still need a bulb that produces UVB... a normal bulb won't.

[pumpkinsherbet]

1. that was probably me, i mentioned it yesterday (in pictures). if the regular incandescent is working for you, then it could work for you for a time. i just noticed a very obvious change in my turts' behaviour when i switched out the bulbs. the way it's made, i guess, they were the same wattage.

2. i don't know

*edit* i forgot to mention that my uva basking bulb was about $7, so they're actually one of the least expensive things you'll buy for the habitat.

[DavidY]

The mercury vapor bulbs provide UVA/UVB and heat all in one bulb. The T-Rex Active UV Heat 100 Watt flood bulb is one of the more popular ones and costs about $45. You will also have to make sure you use a reflector with a ceramic light fixture since the bulb gets very hot. These bulbs also project the UV further than flourescent bulbs so they are better suited for large setups. Flourescent bulbs should be placed within 12 inches of the basking area in order to be effective. MVB's are good from 12 inches to a few feet.

With regard to the filter tube, the same thing happens to me. I'm going to try holding a fish net under the tube the next time I pull it out for cleaning. That should catch the stuff that comes loose.

[myrtle1123]

i have a UVB bulb and when I turn it off it turns blue for about 5 muinutes slowly cooling down!

[DavidY]

myrtle1123, what brand of bulb do you have? Right now I have the Zoomed Powersun bulbs and they shut off immediately. I'm probably going to be switching to the TRex bulbs next since it sounds like they perform better. Cool blue though, that sounds pretty ... er .... cool.

[kikicool]

I do have a UVB bulb separately. But above their basking docks, I have household lightbulbs in the metal cone-shaped heat lamps. Do you think I should replace these with UVA?

And DavidY, let me know if that works!! On the same note, I guess I could hold a pitcher under it...

[DavidY]

By UVB bulb do you mean a flourescent light bulb? Those are good for providing UVB and some UVA for smaller setups and where the light is placed less than 12 inches above the basking area. But the UV drops off rapidly the further away you get from the bulb. They also need to be replaced regularly since the amount of UV drops off over time (I think the recommended replacement interval for flourescent bulbs is every 6 months).

I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to replacing your household lightbulbs with UVA. If you mean getting the incandescent bulbs that claim to provide UVA, I guess it wouldn't hurt. But from what I've read, they produce very little if any UVA. If you use a flourescent bulb like the ZooMed 5.0 you should be all set for both UVB and UVA. Just use the incandescents for heat.

When your turtles get bigger and you're enclosure for them gets bigger, I'd recommend the mercury vapor bulbs as they provide everything they need in just one lamp. They also are good for at least a year so they're worth the money IMO.

[kikicool]

Oh, I don't use the UVB for basking or heat purposes. That's just there for Vitamin A development. The UVB bulb I'm not worried about: I know I chose the right one, and it's less than 12 inches above basking area.

I had been using household bulbs for heat. Bascally, I have one long UVB bulb for reptiles--I believe it could be the zoomed 5.0, can't recall... and then I have two heat lamps with regular household lightbulbs. Is this okay? Thanks for the tip on the mercury vapor bulbs--sound GREAT!

[DavidY]

I would think you'd be all set with that setup. Bulbs that provide UVB usually provide UVA too since UVA falls in the spectrum between UVB and visible light. With that and the lights you have for the heat, your turtles should be happy and healthy.

[kikicool]

Great! Thanks!! And I'll have to look into the mercury vapor bulbs.

We live in NY on the coast and are building a house (we somehow got a bargain on a real nasty ole thing). Sadly, one of my thougth was that the layout we designed was not turtle-friendly: there's a wall between my office, where they live, and the kitchen--for emptying and filling sink. I'm pleased to say that the contractors screwed up and put the outdoor shower behind my office. This means whoo hoo! Out the window, down the drain! It's going to be heaven cleaning!! Once we move in, I'll get a larger tank--and prolly some mercury vapor bulbs... also because I like the sound of them.

[DavidY]

Sounds like a cool house! Did you demolish the old house or did you gut it out and remodel it? And shame on you for not originally designing the house specifically around your turtles! (just kidding!)

I can't wait to see their new tank and setup.

[kikicool]

Thanks! We live in a little seaside town, nothing fancy (ie, not the hamptons!). All the houses are little bungalows, and quite close. This one was rented until the renters got evicted. We filled 6 dumpsters with their JUNK left behind--including drug paraphenalia (not just the "lite" stuff either!) and criminal records. Needless to say, the neighbors were glad to see us. The house didn't even have a certificate of occupancy necessary for people to be living there!! THus, it was a bargain.

Because we are close to the beach, FEMA has a new law: no basements. Unless they already exist. This house had a full basement. Rather than LOSE that, we just demolished the insides. And then took off the salmon-colored POPCORN STUCCO from the outside. And, hopefully, if our town approves, we are going to add a floor.

We won't be able to move in until June (and that's optimistic). But we'll have a wonderful new house that we designed for the same price it would have cost to buy an already-built house! Hard to believe, right? Still, it's our first home, so yeah, we like to do things the hard way.

Maybe I can turn that basement into a giant pond habitat.... (only kinda kidding!)

[DavidY]

Wow, sounds like it's a real "fixer-upper"! I'd hate to meet the "people" that were living there before. That's awesome that you got a good deal though. That's the way to do it, get it cheap, as long as the structure is sound and well built, you can turn it into a nice little nest egg. I can see a nice house in that area going for big bucks especially the longer you sit on it, the more valuable it will get.

The basement pond isn't such a bad idea. Actually, that's what I'm doing! Not the whole basement, of course, but a corner of it. I just picked up one of those black plastic pre-formed ponds at Lowe's for $69. It's like 6.5ftx4.5ftx18in and holds 100gal. Now I just need to clean out that corner!