Lighting advice?

[nightanole]

And then you have these monsters:

http://www.t5fixtures.com/ho-vs-vho-t5-fixtures/

 

[Nursemaia]

I have the 6.2 UVB solarmeter. I also have reflectors on my lights. If I aim the meter directly at my bulbs the readings are around 250.

 

[nightanole]

I have the 6.2 UVB solarmeter. I also have reflectors on my lights. If I aim the meter directly at my bulbs the readings are around 250.

Like an inch or closer? Direct sunlight is 300 in cham land.

I can get my uvi to hit 65, but that requires the light from the uv epoxy cure machine from work .

 

[Nursemaia]

Like an inch or closer? Direct sunlight is 300 in cham land.

I can get my uvi to hit 65, but that requires the light from the uv epoxy cure machine from work .

That's a few inches away and with nothing blocking the bulbs.

 

[kelly_girl199]

That's a few inches away and with nothing blocking the bulbs.

So with the 10.0 are you able to use the bulbs all the way up to a year? Todd said I should easily be good on my 6% bulb for a year but wondering if I should order 12% next time.also what is you preference the reptisun brand bulbs or Arcadia? Is there really that much of a difference?

 

[Nursemaia]

So with the 10.0 are you able to use the bulbs all the way up to a year? Todd said I should easily be good on my 6% bulb for a year but wondering if I should order 12% next time.also what is you preference the reptisun brand bulbs or Arcadia? Is there really that much of a difference?

My preference is arcadia because they last a year and I got the Solarmeter because they can last longer than a year and I want to be able to monitor their output

 

[nightanole]

My preference is arcadia because they last a year and I got the Solarmeter because they can last longer than a year and I want to be able to monitor their output

Yup mine are 2.5 years old, and still put out more than a fresh 10.0. They are down by half , are still puting out more than .5 uvi at 24".

Its a difficult choice on the whole solar meter thing. $200 for a meter buys A LOT of bulbs. However my meter has already saved me $100-150 in just bulb rotation (moving the 12% beardy bulbs to the cham tanks once they are down to 6% levels) and monitoring drift vs new.

 

[Nursemaia]

I think a solarmeter can pay for itself in what it saves you in bulbs. Plus I got mine for Christmas

 

[kelly_girl199]

My preference is arcadia because they last a year and I got the Solarmeter because they can last longer than a year and I want to be able to monitor their output

Even for a 6% you think it will last me a year?

 

[nightanole]

Even for a 6% you think it will last me a year?

I cant speak for the 6%, but i installed a 12% aug 2013 that was measuring 2.8 uvi. I just measured it and it was 2.0. So its gone down 33% in 3.5 years.

 

[kelly_girl199]

I cant speak for the 6%, but i installed a 12% aug 2013 that was measuring 2.8 uvi. I just measured it and it was 2.0. So its gone down 33% in 3.5 years.

Ok now I seriously want a solar meter

 

[JamesB88]

Where did you guys get your solar meters? Sounds like a good investment.

 

[Nursemaia]

Amazon. You can get everything from amazon or direct from Solarmeter.com

 

[Big Gulp]

Keep in mind, with the quad fixture, they also come with legs so you can have it higher so it isn't sitting right on the screen. Easy to adjust this way so you can get proper UV readings.