Habitat - Indoor :: How often do YOU change your uvb bulb?

[BullDog]

I was wondering how often people on this site change their uvb bulb. The main site says change every 6-10 months, and both the Zoomed and Exoterra bulbs say they last UP TO a year. Also, short of buying a uvb meter (which are expensive!) how do you know if your bulb is giving off a sufficient amount of uvb?

I'm curious because my current bulb is about 8 months old, and I bought a new one because they were a really good price at the pet store and I never if that place is going to continue carrying specialty items like that

Also, I buy the 5.0, because of the location of the lamp, it's only 8in away from the dock, and I figured a 10.0 would be too strong to be that close. Does the % uvb have an effect on how long the bulb lasts too?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I think the UVB % does have an effect on how long the bulb will last. With low % UVB bulbs like the ESU coil, people reccomend changing it every six months. Speaking of that bulb, I have used it and replaced (it was 6 months old) it two weeks ago with a reptisun 10.0 that i regret (read my thread and you will know why) I went back to using the same bulb (a brand new one, of course) And plan to replace it in 6 months.

[marisa]

As far as lighting, the amount of UVB a light emits wouldn't affect the life of the bulb (the 3% UVB bulbs I've used have lasted as long, and usually longer than the bulbs that produce higher amounts of UVB). A bulb that produces a higher amount of UVB would, in theory, have more UVB to lose, although some bulbs have a higher burnout rate (lose UVB more quickly) than others and not all bulbs even start with the amount of UVB they say they do.

I tend to use bulbs longer than the recommended time frame for replacing them, mainly because I try to put them new in the fall and use them until the weather gets warm enough so that the sun becomes their UVB source. For me, it also depends in part on the brand as to when they're replaced.

[BullDog]

Hmm, that's an interesting idea Marisa. However, whenever I take Ralph outside he stays in his shell until he gets up enough courage to make a bee-line for the nearest hidey-hole I'll try it again this year maybe, but it's probably more stress on him than anything else...

Yeah, I suppose you're right - we DON'T know if they're even outputting the stated amount of UVB to begin with!

Saturday, yeah, I've read about a couple turts who have got "sun burn", which is part of the reason I decided to stick with the 5%.

[SpotsMama]

I change mine every 12 months because it's an MVB and they last longer than the fluorescents. I voted just because I wanted to see what the vote totals but you really should NOT use my experience as any kind of a guideline because I use a completely different type of bulb.

[DavidY]

Marisa, that's a good idea for scheduling when to replace your bulbs. The problem with trying to determine when a UVB bulb has lost its usefulness is that the only real way to tell is with a UV light meter which is expensive. If you have a reptile society or club in your area, you might try to see if they have one that you could borrow or rent. Anyway, people who have tested these bulbs with UV meters have found them to vary in how much UV they start out with and how quickly they wear out, but the general guideline of 6 to 10 months for flourescent and compact flourescent is pretty well founded. And some bulbs are better (or worse) than others. Bulbs that start out with a lower percentage of UV light will drop to below minimal levels more quickly than a bulb that starts out with a higher level. In general they all wear down at roughly the same rate. Even though the bulb shines brightly does not mean it is still emitting UVB. If you are able to supplement their basking with natural sunlight during the warmer months, that should be enough to make up for the lack of adequate UV in our indoor setups. But some UV is still better than none.

BullDog, that's exactly what 2 of my RES did the other day when I took them out for the first time. At first they turned around and crawled straight to my feet like they wanted me to pick them up and put them back in their tank. Then they turned and made a bee line for my truck and crawled under the tires to get out of the sun. I'm going to only take them out for brief periods and gradually increase it as they get more comfortable with it.

[BullDog]

Hm, thanks for the info David! I don't think there's any herp societies in my area... I think I'll aim for about 9 or 10 months then. Both you and marisa mentioned some bulbs are better than others. Does anyone know how Exoterra compares to Zoomed?

Another thing, I noticed on the new bulb I got (exoterra) it's got a little "don't throw in the garbage" icon on it. It also came with the helpful message of "Hg bulbs contain mercury." Anyhow, what is the safest way to dispose of old uvb bulbs?
I know a lot of people use the old bulbs just for lighting in the tank, but my tank is pretty well illuminated and it doesn't need that extra lighting...

[octpusgirl8]

There are special collection days and drop off points for things like that, you'll hve do do a bit of research to find out when/where, they don't ever advertise it, not in my area at least. In baltimore at the begining of the year they send you a calander with all the dates and usefull info in it. Sometimes enviromental advocacy groups do collections of hazardous trash too. I've been putting my old UVB bulbs in sockets around the house, i'm assuming that they use less energy than incandesent bulbs, as regular household compact flourescents do.

[BullDog]

Yeah, that's exactly what I was just doing, looking at the garbage/recycle calendar. There's nothing about mercury containing products, every year we have a hazardous waste dropoff, so I suppose old bulbs could be taken there.

I also considered using the bulbs around the house, and asked a while back about doing that. A lot of people didn't recomend it, as it is still uvb, and who knows what that'll do to your eyes in the long run :S A lot of the lights in my house are already compact florencents anyway (BC government gives a rebate for any low-energy bulbs you buy). Now that I'm thinking of it, a lot of the lights in my house are covered up with frosted glass, so I can't see why you couldn't use old uvb bulbs...

[marisa]

I do use the bulbs for general lighting, especially since I usually use them a bit longer than is recommended. Used with a shade at a reasonable distance, and if you don't look directly at them I don't think they pose a problem. I did have an interesting conversation with the opthalmologist who examined my eyes last fall, and he said that over time, exposure to UVB rays would very well affect eyesight, but he was referring to the ones being used in tanks that are supposedly giving off UVB rays. I actually have a pair of glasses for use around lighted tanks---the glass has been treated to block UVB rays. I confess that I'm either in a hurry or sometimes just to lazy to put them on every time I'm near a tank, though.

The question of disposing of them and compact flourescents in general is interesting. On NPR a few weeks ago the person being interviewed (who was supposed to knowledgable about saving energy) was questioning the big push for compact flourescents in that if everyone started using them, where were they supposed to dispose of them, since they contain mercury. It would be nice if how to dispose of them were made known before everyone starts buying them (BTW, I heard that Walmart is going to stop selling incandescents in a few years). The house I live in is pretty much all compact flourescents. None have burned out yet. but I've wondered where they were supposed to be put. I've had the last MVB bulb that burned out in the basement since last November...A short article in Sunday's paper two weeks ago, in response to the disposal question, did say that the amount of mercury in them was small, but that with hazardous waste was where they should go.

[BullDog]

Hmm, that is interesting Marisa. I just found out that there is a flourescent recycling place somewhere near here too, where you can recycle the long skinny lights, so I'd imagine you can take the compact ones there too.

Thanks for all the information everyone!

[DavidY]

You can recycle the compacts the same way you do with the flourescent tubes. Each bulb only contains small amounts but seeing as how the elements are toxic (don't break down) they accumulate very quickly and it does add up. I know with motor oil, anywhere that sells it has to also accept the used oil for recycling. So I wonder if any store that sells flourescent lighting also has to take back used bulbs for recycling. My local dump has a special area just for flourescent bulbs. That's where I always recycle mine.

The same is true with rechargeable batteries (lithium ion, nickel metal hydride, etc), and anything that contains rechargeable batteries (like cordless screwdrivers, cordless phones, etc). These should also be recycled at special centers as they are highly toxic to the environment.

[octpusgirl8]

I don't think that stores that sell the bulbs are required to recycle the used ones like happens with used oil, but i really think they should. I didn't even know it wasn't good to throw them out untill i heard that piece on NPR that marisa was refering to. They're supposed to be better for the environment, but if everybody throws them away in landfills they could cause more damage than generating the extra power used by incandecents.