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2 in 1 lightbulb

PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 2:07 am
by GThiele93
Is there such thing as a heat and natural light, lightbulb? I dont know if i have to go get a new lamp or not now i think my light is a 50wt UVB
I should have payed a little more attention,sorry :cry:

This is the bulb and lamp

Image


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 2:16 am
by shannon_nicole
your uvb bulb shouldn't be your only heat source... my uvb bulbs don't put off much heat. I mean there are the powersun things I think they put off heat and uvb. But if you have a uvb bulb and it's not putting off enough heat, you can still use the uvb bulb. You just need another lamp and just a regular household incandescent bulb will do. These will put off enough heat, and then the uvb coming from the uvb bulb, and you are all set.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 2:43 am
by GThiele93
shannon_nicole wrote:your uvb bulb shouldn't be your only heat source... my uvb bulbs don't put off much heat. I mean there are the powersun things I think they put off heat and uvb. But if you have a uvb bulb and it's not putting off enough heat, you can still use the uvb bulb. You just need another lamp and just a regular household incandescent bulb will do. These will put off enough heat, and then the uvb coming from the uvb bulb, and you are all set.


Ah, thanks
so can i just use a ceramic bulb or heat eimmeter
along with my UVB

PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:44 am
by FLhaven4strays
A normal household lightbulb will put off enough heat & cost less. I use either a 60 or 75 watt (depending on how close I have the light fixture to the basking rock). Yes, though - you do need a UVB as well as a heat source (to encourage them to go up & bask under the UVB...won't do that if it's not warm enough)

PostPosted: Fri Nov 23, 2007 10:04 pm
by SpotsMama
Your 50 watt bulb isn't really producing enough UVB to be of any use. I don't know what brand you have, but even if it was advertised as a "full spectrum" bulb, it really isn't. Only fluorescent bulbs and certain very powerful, expensive mercury vapor bulbs will produce the UVB your turtle needs.

If a bulb is fluorescent, it's watts are always low. 26 watts is about the top end for a fluorescent. Because fluorescent watts are low, fluorescent bulbs are cool and won't provide the heat your turtle also needs. Hence the need for two bulbs.

The heat bulb can be a plain, garden variety household incandescent bulb. I think most people use a 75 watt bulb but you can use whatever watt bulb will get your basking platform to the right temperature.

The fluorescent has to be a special coated bulb from a pet store or on-line pet supply place. A good one is an exo terra repti glo 5.0 26 watt compact fluorescent bulb. It's relatively cheap and provides the right amount of UVB.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 8:18 am
by Vtolds
I use a 75 watt Zoo med bulb as a UVB and heat lamp, I dont see why you need a separate source of heat other than the water heater.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:13 pm
by N4784N R4613
If it is 75 watts, and NOT a MVB, then it isn't producing any UVB rays. By any chance, is this the bulb you are talking about?

Image

If it is, then it does NOT produce any UVB. :( It can be very misleading, when they say "basking bulb" or "full-spectrum," but for it to work as a UVB bulb, it has to say on the box UVB. Not UVA. It will work as a nice heat bulb(you can use a household bulb for heat), but you still need to get a bulb that says it produces UVB. If you get a florescent(most common) make sure it is 5% UVB, or higher.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:55 pm
by GThiele93
N4784N R4613 wrote:If it is 75 watts, and NOT a MVB, then it isn't producing any UVB rays. By any chance, is this the bulb you are talking about?

Image

If it is, then it does NOT produce any UVB. :( It can be very misleading, when they say "basking bulb" or "full-spectrum," but for it to work as a UVB bulb, it has to say on the box UVB. Not UVA. It will work as a nice heat bulb(you can use a household bulb for heat), but you still need to get a bulb that says it produces UVB. If you get a florescent(most common) make sure it is 5% UVB, or higher.



Yes, do they only have flourescent or do they make them in bulbs that I can use with a clamp lamp

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 12:58 pm
by emma
For UVB this is a bulb you should get- http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/co ... _bulbs.php --- the 5.0 26 watt one.

For heat- regular house bulb. You willl have to try the watts to see what you will need.

The bulb you have really only gives off heat. I think you can use all the bulbs i mentioned in a clamp lamp.

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 2:24 pm
by GThiele93
FINNALY! Thank you!

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 3:25 pm
by Vtolds
Is a Uvb compact bulb able to be used as a basking lamp?

PostPosted: Sat Nov 24, 2007 3:33 pm
by N4784N R4613
No, a compact UVB bulb doesn't produce enough heat to entice your turtle to bask. You need a HEAT bulb(you can use a household bulb as long as it gets the basking spot to the right temp), and a UVB bulb(you need to buy this one at a pet store, or online).

If your tank is 50 gallons, or larger you could get a MVB. It is very powerful, and will overheat smaller tanks, but it produces UVB, UVA, and HEAT in one bulb.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=7327