Arcadia T5 6% 54w bulb.

[Edwaldo23]

Hey guys,

I wanted to ask this to see what ppl think and to gather any advice. I recently bought a 46" Arcadia T5 6% 54w bulb and fixture. My enclosure is 4ft wide by 3 ft high and 20" thick. I got the bulb and installed it on the very top and after about 7 days I noticed my cham got very inactive and wasn't acting like his normal self.

After asking for some advice I was told Chams need locations to get out of the UVB. It was also mentiooned that this bulb when first used gives off more UVB then wanted. I just wanted to post and ask if others have used this with no issues.

I would really like to use this bulb since I now have it and it was a tad pricey. I could even look into a UVB meter to see how much it rly is outputting into the enclosure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Andee]

You could run it for a few days without it being on the cage and let it let out the excess uvb. It could be that you need more foliage too.

 

[nightanole]

3ft high for a 6% is pretty aggressive, based on my measurements, at 2ft away its the same strength as 6-8" away from a reptisun 10.0. On the other hand 2ft away is full shade at noon based on my meter. So a well planted cage should have no problems. My cage is setup for everything to be a 2ft from the 46" t5 ho 6% and my guy works out great, however he can free range if he wants, but rarely leaves the "cage". If it was setup wrong he would never be in it.

You can search some of my repeat posts on my t5 setups,readings, and research via the forum search or just google "nightanole arcadia" etc.

 

[Decadancin]

If you are concerned about intensity, (and I would be with a 3 foot enclosure height and 6%T5) you can add a spare piece of screen between the fixture and the top of the enclosure to lower the intensity.

 

[Decadancin]

You could run it for a few days without it being on the cage and let it let out the excess uvb. It could be that you need more foliage too.

I don't think there would be enough drop off with the Arcadias after a few days, but haven't actually tested this.

 

[Edwaldo23]

Here is a pic. of the enclosure as it is now without the t5

 

[Andee]

That's a lot of light without it, what is creating all that light?

 

[Edwaldo23]

Its just a bad pic with a glare, just using pic to describe the size.

 

[Andee]

I wouldn't use an Arcadia in there without a lot more cover. You should have more c9ver in general anyway.

 

[PJK]

I wouldn't use an Arcadia in there without a lot more cover. You should have more c9ver in general anyway.

cover in general is a good idea, but an arcadia 6% is only 1% stronger than a reptisun 5.0. Also is this a single, double or quad fixture, and how may of the bulbs are arcadia? If it is two arcadias its more like 12%. Cover is always a good idea obviously, but if you own a solarmeter you would see that the UVB levels drop off dramatically when you move away from the bulb so its not like a 6% bulb with a little less cover is going to kill anyone's animal.

 

[Decadancin]

cover in general is a good idea, but an arcadia 6% is only 1% stronger than a reptisun 5.0. Also is this a single, double or quad fixture, and how may of the bulbs are arcadia? If it is two arcadias its more like 12%. Cover is always a good idea obviously, but if you own a solarmeter you would see that the UVB levels drop off dramatically when you move away from the bulb so its not like a 6% bulb with a little less cover is going to kill anyone's animal.

The issue here is that the reflector in the tropic blaze fixture (not sure if that is what is being used but that is what I have) can amplify the bulbs efficiency quite a bit. In a three foot tall enclosure the chameleon would likely spend even more time up in the top ranges of the enclosure for security and would be exposed to the intensity even more than normal, especially without plenty of foliage. A T5 HO will be much brighter than your standard 5.0. Just look at the before and afters from those who have switched. It may not kill anyone's animal, but can lead to eye issues, and some may say even cause skin issues from cancer. I'm not saying that will happen, but just like to look at the ideal conditions for the animal.

 

[PJK]

The issue here is that the reflector in the tropic blaze fixture (not sure if that is what is being used but that is what I have) can amplify the bulbs efficiency quite a bit. In a three foot tall enclosure the chameleon would likely spend even more time up in the top ranges of the enclosure for security and would be exposed to the intensity even more than normal, especially without plenty of foliage. A T5 HO will be much brighter than your standard 5.0. Just look at the before and afters from those who have switched. It may not kill anyone's animal, but can lead to eye issues, and some may say even cause skin issues from cancer. I'm not saying that will happen, but just like to look at the ideal conditions for the animal.

Idk dude. Seems like everyone is throwing their two cent in, lets get Todd to weigh in. Its not like the guys got a quad fixture with all 12% and 100% exposure.

 

[Decadancin]

Idk dude. Seems like everyone is throwing their two cent in, lets get Todd to weigh in. Its not like the guys got a quad fixture with all 12% and 100% exposure.

True, but just giving my two cents too . Now I'm broke for the rest of the month .

 

[JGspecial]

id like to know the truth about this bulb thing. i have 3 tropic blaze quad fixtures all with 1 arcadia 12% bulb in them. i have a veiled, a panther, and a fisher. i hang my lights about 3-4" above my cages and there is plenty of real foliage in each enclosure. they all have a place to get out of the light if need be. im wondering if i made the wrong purchase above my xl cages now, should i have went with the 6%? also thinking of sliding a screen in the glass spot, would that be necessary or no?

 

[Decadancin]

Cage and canopy.

• Decadancin
• Oct 8, 2012

I switched to a 12% from a 6% because of the dense foliage (even more now with lots of pothos near the top). My fixture is not that far from the basking site, but there are tons of spots that he can take cover when he wants. In reality, in a tall enclosure there shouldn't be much of a problem as long as there are places that offer shade. My only concern with this specific case was the shorter enclosure height and not a lot of space to seek shelter. In my mind I see the animal staying near the top more due to the limited enclosure size and thus in more direct light. This may not actually happen, but that is a possibility that I wanted to point out. As for the extra screen, you could do this when the bulb is new, but the only real way to see if it is needed would be to use a solarmeter.

 

[Decadancin]

3ft high for a 6% is pretty aggressive, based on my measurements, at 2ft away its the same strength as 6-8" away from a reptisun 10.0.

This is the exact reason why I was concerned.

 

[nightanole]

id like to know the truth about this bulb thing. i have 3 tropic blaze quad fixtures all with 1 arcadia 12% bulb in them. i have a veiled, a panther, and a fisher. i hang my lights about 3-4" above my cages and there is plenty of real foliage in each enclosure. they all have a place to get out of the light if need be. im wondering if i made the wrong purchase above my xl cages now, should i have went with the 6%? also thinking of sliding a screen in the glass spot, would that be necessary or no?

View attachment 168789

Found my posts...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/is-uvb-10-harmful.128206/#post-1121612

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/solarmeter-reading.139937/#post-1196948