Hey all,
In nearing the end of my large free-range build I ended up buying LED lighting (which so far I love, but damn its expensive up front)...
I got 30x CREE LEDs (26 for daytime, 4 for "moonlight" on ultra low power) drivers etc (and the dimming controller...which i'm very unhappy with at the price point [its not programmable and it needs a separate power cycle timer to operate AND you have to buy an additional power supply for it as well!)
anyway long story short, i figured....why not add UV leds and ditch the separate bulbs? Needless to say, the fixtures don't exist....
....but the LEDs do....
I've done some very preliminary number crunching and if ordering from the (only) supplier that I have found in small numbers.... a single 290nm UV LED outputting 1.2mW @ 30mA costs ~$275.
I was curious if anyone has seen any or knows of any other UV fixtures FOR REPTILES (not grow lights etc) *or* LEDs / SUPPLIERS? Any experience would be awesome!
Also, does anyone know where I can get the SPECTRAL GRAPHS and SPECIFICATIONS for the various bulbs (Reptisun, Reptiglo, etc 5.0 and 10.0)?? I have contacted Zoomed and am waiting a response. In the meanwhile I have been basing my calculations off the data presented here:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-tests.htm
I realize that was written 2009 and I have no way of validating the data, so any confirmations / etc would be appreciated.
Also, anyone with a SOLARMETER if you could *PLEASE* give me some measurements I would be highly appreciative!!
MODEL of Solarmeter:
IF SOLARMETER 6..UVI of your bulbs too plz
Type of bulb:
AGE of bulb (approx # of days bulb has been on):
Reading at 6":
Reading at 12":
Reading at 18":
This would be SO IMMENSELY HELPFUL!!! The more data on this the better!
Although cost is still an issue, the LEDs I have found output ~10-15nm spectrum and I can order it in any wavelength range I want. Based on the above-linked data, I am aiming for a final light range of 285-315nm.
Issue #1: What ratios of the relative wavelengths are best? I believe that this will vary to some extent among species and whatnot...I am still debating if I should aim specifically for panthers or reptiles in general, but I completely lack any scientific data on the matter anyway.
Alternatively, if anyone can direct me to some data on reptile/chameleon reactions to various UV index or ratios of UVA/UVB light I can work off that data as well
Issue #2: CAN a chameleon detect UVB light? Does anyone have personal or scientific information on this? I am crunching numbers on various different light spreads. The tighter the light beam, the less LEDs we can use to generate sufficient UVB and UVA (this is VERY crudely summed as there are many complications)...but in general a tighter beam will result in a lower cost.
---so can I "spotlight" UVB onto a certain spot while evenly lighting the rest of the tank?
-------I realize that I can "trick" the chameleon by making sure the UV spotlight coincides with the basking spot, but I am curious if they are not aligned if the chameleon will understand to "stay here" to get UVB?
Issue #3: Cost.
Hopefully I can find cheaper sources, but very roughly speaking the best I have found is on the orders of $275 for orders of 1-25......$200 for orders of 100ish......$80 for orders of 5,000ish....
The cost is currently making me think otherwise about this project and I am installing some CFL's for the time being...but I'm not entirely giving up on this idea...
In nearing the end of my large free-range build I ended up buying LED lighting (which so far I love, but damn its expensive up front)...
I got 30x CREE LEDs (26 for daytime, 4 for "moonlight" on ultra low power) drivers etc (and the dimming controller...which i'm very unhappy with at the price point [its not programmable and it needs a separate power cycle timer to operate AND you have to buy an additional power supply for it as well!)
anyway long story short, i figured....why not add UV leds and ditch the separate bulbs? Needless to say, the fixtures don't exist....
....but the LEDs do....
I've done some very preliminary number crunching and if ordering from the (only) supplier that I have found in small numbers.... a single 290nm UV LED outputting 1.2mW @ 30mA costs ~$275.
I was curious if anyone has seen any or knows of any other UV fixtures FOR REPTILES (not grow lights etc) *or* LEDs / SUPPLIERS? Any experience would be awesome!
Also, does anyone know where I can get the SPECTRAL GRAPHS and SPECIFICATIONS for the various bulbs (Reptisun, Reptiglo, etc 5.0 and 10.0)?? I have contacted Zoomed and am waiting a response. In the meanwhile I have been basing my calculations off the data presented here:
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-tests.htm
I realize that was written 2009 and I have no way of validating the data, so any confirmations / etc would be appreciated.
Also, anyone with a SOLARMETER if you could *PLEASE* give me some measurements I would be highly appreciative!!
MODEL of Solarmeter:
IF SOLARMETER 6..UVI of your bulbs too plz
Type of bulb:
AGE of bulb (approx # of days bulb has been on):
Reading at 6":
Reading at 12":
Reading at 18":
This would be SO IMMENSELY HELPFUL!!! The more data on this the better!
Although cost is still an issue, the LEDs I have found output ~10-15nm spectrum and I can order it in any wavelength range I want. Based on the above-linked data, I am aiming for a final light range of 285-315nm.
Issue #1: What ratios of the relative wavelengths are best? I believe that this will vary to some extent among species and whatnot...I am still debating if I should aim specifically for panthers or reptiles in general, but I completely lack any scientific data on the matter anyway.
Alternatively, if anyone can direct me to some data on reptile/chameleon reactions to various UV index or ratios of UVA/UVB light I can work off that data as well
Issue #2: CAN a chameleon detect UVB light? Does anyone have personal or scientific information on this? I am crunching numbers on various different light spreads. The tighter the light beam, the less LEDs we can use to generate sufficient UVB and UVA (this is VERY crudely summed as there are many complications)...but in general a tighter beam will result in a lower cost.
---so can I "spotlight" UVB onto a certain spot while evenly lighting the rest of the tank?
-------I realize that I can "trick" the chameleon by making sure the UV spotlight coincides with the basking spot, but I am curious if they are not aligned if the chameleon will understand to "stay here" to get UVB?
Issue #3: Cost.
Hopefully I can find cheaper sources, but very roughly speaking the best I have found is on the orders of $275 for orders of 1-25......$200 for orders of 100ish......$80 for orders of 5,000ish....
The cost is currently making me think otherwise about this project and I am installing some CFL's for the time being...but I'm not entirely giving up on this idea...