Habitat - Indoor :: how often should you replace basking and UVB bulbs?

[2Daughtry8]

I went to That Fish Place/That Pet Place earlier this week and asked someone in the reptile room what they thought about how often you should replace the basking bulb and the UVB bulb. She said you replace the basking bulb when it burns out, and the UVB bulb every 6 months. I got the Exo Terra 5.0 UVB 15W bulb, and it says on the box to replace it every year, she is saying 6 months. For the basking bulb, I have the Zoo Med Basking Spot Lamp and it doesn't say anything about when to replace it.

Any thoughts on this?

Thank you!

[Chrisbarnett]

Yeah basking bulbs are just whenever they burn out. Also, you dont have to buy those fancy bulbs from zoo med for basking light. You can use just regular incandescent household lighting.

The UVB should be replaced every 6 months. I have heard of letting them go to 8 months, but I've never gone by that.

A pet shop gave someone good advice! That's progress.

[papoopeepoo]

kudos to the pet shop worker

filament life for the basking light, 6 months for the UVB

i'm not sure about Mercury Vapor bulbs???? do they go by filament life as well, or 6 months standard?

[Chrisbarnett]

The MVB's are good for a year, I think.

[papoopeepoo]

good stuff, thanks Chris

[steve]

A good MVB should last for a year (not the Solar-Glo or cheaper versions) and I'd personally replace the Exo Terra's CFs sooner than 6 months, provided they don't burn out.

[2Daughtry8]

Ok, I just wasn't sure on the UVB because of what the box said.

What wattage for the household bulb?

[papoopeepoo]

anything about 100 watts or below is fine with the incandescent (household) bulb, 75 watts is optimal. you want to aim for around 90 degrees on your basking "rock."


http://www.redearslider.com/index_lighting_basking.html

[2Daughtry8]

Well, I'm actually in the process of making an ATBA, so I guess just the one light I have now will be sufficient. I noticed that some people have more than one light shining in theirs...

[Daniel3507]

you will need the two lights for your basking area. the only way you will be able to use just one bulb is with an MVB and depending on the size of the tank, you may not be able to use one so you will have to have 2 lights shining on your basking area. the incandescent and the UVB

[marisa]

The staff person was pretty much on target. I don't use Repti-Glo's, but Reptisuns are usually replaced every 6-8 months. If the MVB is either of the two better ones, I use them until they burn out.

[2Daughtry8]

I already have the Exo Terra UVB I described above in a hood on the one side of the tank, and just the basking light on the other side of the tank shining down on the rock. I need another UVB over the ATBA along with the incandescent?

[Daniel3507]

you dont need the UVB over the water. the water blocks out all the UVB so it is useless there. you need the UVB and the incandescent over the ATBA

[2Daughtry8]

ok, so what kind of bulb should I put in the hood, or should I just put egg crate on that side as a lid? It will be dark in that side of the tank then without a light.

[Daniel3507]

for the part over the water if you are wanting to use the hood you can just use any kind of light. personally though i like to use just egg crate over both sides to provide better air circulation.