Habitat - Indoor :: help with lighting pls

[vicnlee]

hey everyone I'm a new member here I acquired two res over the weekend about an inch n a half long. I been lurking on here and put together a setup for them with all suggested equipment I have one question though I have a friend who owns a pet store and swears I don't need a incandescent light just the UVB I bought from but I noticed evryone has both what should I do and which one should be over the basking area. It's a ten gal ( temporary) and the water is half full in the tank what watts too? Thank u in advance - victor

[Daniel3507]

you need both UVB and heat which is where the incandescent come in. having only a UVB wont warm the basking area and your turtle wont bask. really the wattage depends in how close it is to the basking area. just be sure and keep a thermometer on the basking area till you find a bulb that gives it the right temp

[vicnlee]

It's about 6 inches away and what should the temp be roughly ... So I should swtch the incandecent over the basking area

[Daniel3507]

you need both the UVB and the incandescent over the basking area. it should be at least 10 degrees warmer than the water.

[megcornell]

Also, while the house hold bulb or UVA bulb can be close to the basking area, you CANNOT have the UVB only 6 inches away if it is a coil bulb. Having the UVB that close can hurt the turtles' eyes.

[PcBuilder14]

UVB - at least 5.0....... about 12 inches away....... at least a 26 watt.

Heat lamp - at least 60 watts....... somewhere from 5-9 inches depending on the wattage..... for an alternative you can use a household bulb.