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How far should my uvb light be from my basking platform?
How far should my heat lamp be from my basking platform?


the lamp on the left is the uvb.

If that UVB bulb is a 10.0, then it should be about 12"-14" away. Use a thermometer to measure the temp on the basking area, which should be roughly 10F degrees warmer than the water.

the uvb is a 5.0 and the heat lamp is 50 watt.

That UVB looks a little too close. Place it about 12" from the basking area..maybe place the clamp on the other side of the tank.
The basking bulb has to be adjusted so the basking area is at about 90F (you may have to play with it to find the "sweet spot"). If it's too close to achieve this, go to a higher rated bulb, and adjust the distance. You don't want the bulb too close.

What's the temp of the basking area as it is now (should be around 90F)?

To me, the UVB bulb (5.0) isn't too close. But, I'd prefer that the bulbs were positioned in back of the basking area rather than across from it.

Rayzherup, haven't you had a problem with swollen turtle eyes with that very bulb? It may be that it's a particularly strong bulb. If it were me I wouldn't put it closer than 12" away.

i have it about 14 inches away now. Will it still do any good tho, if it isn't directly above them, shining down on them? Sorry, i'm still dumb when it comes to this stuff. lol

This is a 5.0 Reptisun compact flourescent? Beyond 12 inches, he's not really benefiting from it, and at 12 inches he's getting very minimal benefit. Some people on the forum have said they've had problems with the 10.0s (I never have), but I don't recall problems with the 5.0s. If there is a problem with your bulb, I don't think it's the amount of UVB it's giving off, I think it's the brightness of the bulb as it sticks out of the reflective dome. Perhaps a fixture that would hide the bulb more would be better.

I think this is the 2nd user with a problem with the 5.0.

The further away the bulb, the more it loses strength. Since it has been confirmed (I think) in your other topic that this bulb is causing problems, could you exchange this for another one?

Yes, the very first instance I saw of this type problem was with a 5.0.

I guess you cant realy trust reptisun anymore..this was a 5.0, not a 10.0 but a 5.0. Zoo med even suggests using 5.0's with aquatic turtles. This is just wierd. Hopefully with spotsmama big investigation, we will find answers soon enough. Me, steve and grey goose donated our Reptisuns that caused eye irritation in our turtles to spotsmama so that she could ship them to the UK and have them tested out for UVC.

I'm also shipping two brand new 10.0's for testing. I think I'll go out today and get a 5.0 to throw in too.

Check out this thread...

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9236