Lighting help please

[sarahog]

I curently have a 75watt house bulb and a 10.0 repti glow strip light in one cage and a 75watt house bulb and a 5.0 spiral repti glow in the other. Cage size is 2'lx2'wx4'h. The problem I've having is the cages seem dark. I'm trying to find a balance between the cages getting to warm and the cages being too dark. I have a lot of plants in each cage so there is a lot of darker shaded area and even at the top it doesn't seem very bright. How do you guys keep the cages well lit?

 

[carol5208]

Some people use the grow lights that help the plants grow and light up the cage. I don't know if they give off much heat. I believe they are called 6500K and you get them at home depot. I use another dome light in my cage with a 20 watt in it for extra light. It doesn't give off too much heat but my cham will sit under sometimes to bask still.

 

[sarahog]

Reptisun vs reptiglo

Also, I forgot to ask this.. my UVBs are due to be changed next month and I'm wondering if Reptisun 5.0 is better than reptiglo? I notice a lot of people using reptisun and I want to get what's best, I am doing research online now but it's always nice to talk to actual users

Would this lighting arrangement work well?
Reptisun 5.0
Reptisun 2.0
65-75 watt basking bulb (house bulb)

 

[carol5208]

I cannot say I have research to back which is better. It just seems to be what all of us on the forum (or the majority) of us use with great success. meaning the Reptisuns. The 5.0 is really all you need. You really don't have to use the 2.0. A 24 X 24 X 48 cage works fine with one 5.0. As far as the 75 watt, as long as your basking temp is within the range of what you want it to be then the 75 watt is good. It depends on how cold your house is, how far away the bulb is from the basking branch, if it sits directly on the screen, etc. I only use a 45 watt for my cham for basking and thats what what works where I live and with the temps in my house.

 

[melric]

I use them both with success.

 

[Lingling]

Instead of a 2.0 and a 5.0, use a 5.0 with a plant bulb like Carol suggested. Something in the 6500-6700K range is best for plants. It'll brighten your cage, be good for your plants, and be cheaper than a UVB light (usually). Two UVBs is just overkill.

 

[sarahog]

6500k grow light??

Can someone explain the 6500k bulb to me, I am trying to find it at lowes or home depot but the lights online just say ___watt flourescent bulb

 

[reptoman]

http://www.horticulturesource.com/l...4462/?osCsid=734795661ae12b6e12f81581dbcc198c


This is what I use from either Lowes or home depot. It will say 6500K on the bulb in addition to the watts and T8 or T12 indicating what type of ballast you should have in the fixture for that bulb.

 

[suzi]

I purchased mine @ lowes In the lighting section they have fluorescent long tubes in a white box 48" long. ( I don't know if they come in different sizes) the 6500 k is in small print on the box. They have different ones like 3500k etc ... At first The box I saw had 12 tubes and said they only have in bulk but I found a two pack under all the huge bulk fluorescent boxes, close to the floor, they were kinda hard to find. I tried to find the box to be more specific but couldn't, sorry but I hope this helps. The guy at the store said the lights were for aquariums if that helps.

 

[tyler]

http://www.horticulturesource.com/l...4462/?osCsid=734795661ae12b6e12f81581dbcc198c


This is what I use from either Lowes or home depot. It will say 6500K on the bulb in addition to the watts and T8 or T12 indicating what type of ballast you should have in the fixture for that bulb.

I shopped around for a long time at both home depot and lowes and neither had the 6500k in a 24" t8, to the OP if you don't mind shelling out alittle extra cash you can go to petco or petsmart and in the aquarium section they will have florasun, that's what i picked up in a 24" t-8, I wanna say it's 5000k but it works great for me and my plants are thriving. You can buy a dual t-8 hood and have both your grow bulb and uvb in there and it'll light up your cage great.

-Just FYI 6500k or 5000k.. whatever, refers to the color tempature of the light. basically how bright it is.

*edit: I wanna say that the florasun was $15 as opposed to around $7 you could expect to pay for a flourescent at a hardware store.

 

[ken2414]

im using a flourescent tube on top and on the side i used a mic stand to clip my heat source and another plant spot bulb further down the stand. works great for me.