The tape measure is touching the screen btw.
Do you think it would be ok with the recommended bulb? Cause I’ve been using that fixture, just swapped the bulb
Excellent data!!! Thank you for posting.I just bought that exact one with the goal of testing it and just took my first readings of UVI after allowing one week of burn in time. It’s sadly underperforming. It’s set up as any uvb would be on a ReptiBreeze enclosure and sitting directly on the screen top. In order for a chameleon to be in the desired 3.0 UVI zone, the distance is a mere 3”. That’s not much better than a cfl. I’ve had Arcadia bulbs/fixtures that provided better UVI after a full year’s use. I tested the at least 6 month old Arcadia 6% sitting nearby and got a reading of 2.6 at about 9”. Due to such poor performance, I don’t think I’ll be following thru with testing it as is. I think I’m out of fresh Arcadia 6% bulbs, but I’ll have to get one and then test the fixture. In the meantime, trust only the proven Arcadia and ReptiSun T5’s with 6% and 5.0.
The ideal UVI of 3.0 at only 3”/7.6 cm.
View attachment 351189
At 6”/15cm 2.0 UVI
View attachment 351190
At distance of 8”/20cm UVI is only 1.8. This is not adequate. With T5HO Arcadia 6% and 5.0, at this distance the UVI is pretty consistently the ideal 3.0.
View attachment 351191
At distance of 9”/23cm UVI is a very poor 1.5.
View attachment 351192
Let me try exchanging that bulb with the Arcadia that I know works well. I’ll get back to you on this.
Thanks for the info!I just bought that exact one with the goal of testing it and just took my first readings of UVI after allowing one week of burn in time. It’s sadly underperforming. It’s set up as any uvb would be on a ReptiBreeze enclosure and sitting directly on the screen top. In order for a chameleon to be in the desired 3.0 UVI zone, the distance is a mere 3”. That’s not much better than a cfl. I’ve had Arcadia bulbs/fixtures that provided better UVI after a full year’s use. I tested the at least 6 month old Arcadia 6% sitting nearby and got a reading of 2.6 at about 9”. Due to such poor performance, I don’t think I’ll be following thru with testing it as is. I think I’m out of fresh Arcadia 6% bulbs, but I’ll have to get one and then test the fixture. In the meantime, trust only the proven Arcadia and ReptiSun T5’s with 6% and 5.0.
The ideal UVI of 3.0 at only 3”/7.6 cm.
View attachment 351189
At 6”/15cm 2.0 UVI
View attachment 351190
At distance of 8”/20cm UVI is only 1.8. This is not adequate. With T5HO Arcadia 6% and 5.0, at this distance the UVI is pretty consistently the ideal 3.0.
View attachment 351191
At distance of 9”/23cm UVI is a very poor 1.5.
View attachment 351192
Awesome thanks so much for this! I was in need of a new fixture so I bought this one and put the reptisun bulb I had in it. So with your test, is my basking branch ok at 8in below the bulb?I exchanged the bulbs - put the new ReptiZoo 5.0 into the Arcadia ProT5 and put the 6 month old Arcadia 6% into the new ReptiZoo fixture. The fixture seems to be ok, but the bulb doesn’t meet our needs.
ProT5 with ReptiZoo 5.0 at distance of 7”/18cm = UVI 1.7
View attachment 351220
ProT5 with ReptiZoo 5.0 at distance of 4”/10cm = UVI 3.1 *had to move solarmeter around and obtained this reading in extremely narrow area. Average reading out of narrow area about 2.2.
View attachment 351219
ReptiZoo T5 with Arcadia 6% at distance of 3”/8cm = 6.1 UVI
View attachment 351222
ReptiZoo T5 with Arcadia 6% at distance of 9”/23cm = perfect 3.0 UVI
View attachment 351221
Gratuitous pic of Lucky who graciously allowed me to use his lights for testing. Such a sweet guy! Not one hiss, gape, fire up or run away while I was all in his house.
View attachment 351224
So, I think the ReptiZoo fixture is ok, although no idea if it will last as long as ReptiZoo or Arcadia. The uvb bulb that comes with it though is not adequate for a chameleon. While you may be saving approx $20 by buying the ReptiZoo, you will be needing to replace the bulb and those run around $20-$25 each. You aren’t really saving anything. There is always the possibility that I received a defective bulb, but I’m not feeling the need to spend any more and buy another ReptiZoo 5.0 to test. My opinion is to just get the Arcadia ProT5 (or ReptiSun) and both come with a quality uvb bulb.
As far as I can tell, it should be. The ReptiZoo fixture looks so much like the Arcadia one which makes me question if they were made by the same company (just sold to different brands to sell as their own).
Lucky find! I hope that does not mean they are being discontinued,,,,
The cardboard on the ends of both were a little damaged. I pulled the bulbs out and they looked fine.
