NorCalAnthony
Avid Member
Hey Everyone,
I've seen a few posts of people asking questions about the new Reptisun LED UVB fixtures and while I was at my local reptile shop I saw that they had just got a shipment of them in. They looked pretty sweet so I decided to buy one and give it a try. I already have a couple of fixtures from Todd at LYR and really like them but when I got my newest cham I didn't have time to order another one online and wound up buying one of the Reptisun T5 HO UVB bulbs and fixtures from the same reptile store. It worked fine but I wanted to add some plant lights which required adding an additional fixture or more. One of the main selling features of the new fixture is that it had everything I wanted in one tidy little package.
One of the first things that I should point out is that the UVB does not come from the LED bulbs. The LED bulbs are for the plant lighting and there is a separate spot in the fixture for a T5 HO bulb (the fixture came with a free 5.0 bulb). Something else I found interesting is that Zoomed is now advertising that their T5 HO bulbs last for a full 12 months like the Arcadia bulbs. I plan on eventually getting a solar meter to be able to compare the decay rate between the new Reptisun T5HO bulbs and the Arcadia T5HO bulbs from LYR. The LED's come in separate modules that can be replaced individually as they wear out and they are advertised as lasting 20,000 hours. Each module comes with four 1 watt, 6500K High Output daylight LED's; two 0.5 watt, 620 nm Red LED's that provide correct wavelengths for photosynthesis & live plant growth; and one 60 milliwatt Blue LED that simulates "Lunar Effect" and provides for nighttime viewing (which I will not be using with my cham). There's a switch to allow you to control using only 6500k LED's only or 6500k LED's with the red LED's as well as a separate switch for the blue LED's. Here are a few of pictures for you. I apologize in advance for my crummy photography skills and some occasional light reflections...
Here's the current set up for my 2 year old Nosy Be, Poseidon. It's a 24"x24"x48" cage with two schefflera's and pothos inside. It currently has the 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO bulb in a matching Reptisun fixture for UVB, a Jungle Dawn LED bulb for the plants, and a 50w spotlight bulb for basking.
Here are a couple of shots of the box before I started setting up the new fixture.
Here are a couple of side by sides of the original T5HO fixture (single UVB bulb only) and the new LED UVB fixture. As you can see it's a bit larger/wider but should help get rid of some clutter up on top of your cage if you're currently using several lights and fixtures like I was.
Here's a close up of the LED module (sorry about the dog hair on the clear cover lol)
There are two separate cords. One standard cord for the T5HO bulb and a power supply style cord for the LED's.
Here's a shot of the switches. Forward-most switch is the three position switch for the white & red LED's, then the next one is a separate switch for the blue LED's, and the furthest-most is for the T5HO UVB. You can also see how slim the fixture is. I think it's only around an inch tall (give or take) and gives me a nice flat spot to set my dripper on that won't cause the screen to sag.
Here's a shot of the fixture installed on top of Poseidon's cage with his basking light. This shot has the UVB bulb with just the white 6500k plant lights turned on.
Here's a shot of the same setup but with the red LED's added. I'll probably leave these extra red LED's off until I get a hibiscus or other flowering plant to put in there to see if they really make a difference.
Here's a comparison shot of my two girl's cages. They're 18"x18"x36" and share a 36" double T5HO fixture from LYR with a 6% Arcadia bulb and a 6500k bulb for the plants. They also each have a 40w incandescent bulb for basking. This set up has worked very well and the pothos and hibiscus I use in them have really taken off ever since I got the fixture from Todd.
I've only had it installed for a couple of days now so I'll have to post some updates once it's been in use for a while. So far though, I am very impressed with the light output from the LED's and really like how compact the fixture is. I would say that the new LED and T5HO hybrid fixture is at least as bright as the double T5HO fixture and though it's probably closer to the tropic blaze quad fixture that I have on Loki's (2yo male Ambilobe) custom viv. Plus, having the LED's provide the plant light instead of additional T5HO bulbs should help cut down on the power bill since they use about half the wattage as a single T5HO bulb for the same size fixture. This may be something worth considering for people who have several chams and are concerned with their electric bill (I know I am lol).
Hopefully this write up will help others interested in these new fixtures and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
I've seen a few posts of people asking questions about the new Reptisun LED UVB fixtures and while I was at my local reptile shop I saw that they had just got a shipment of them in. They looked pretty sweet so I decided to buy one and give it a try. I already have a couple of fixtures from Todd at LYR and really like them but when I got my newest cham I didn't have time to order another one online and wound up buying one of the Reptisun T5 HO UVB bulbs and fixtures from the same reptile store. It worked fine but I wanted to add some plant lights which required adding an additional fixture or more. One of the main selling features of the new fixture is that it had everything I wanted in one tidy little package.
One of the first things that I should point out is that the UVB does not come from the LED bulbs. The LED bulbs are for the plant lighting and there is a separate spot in the fixture for a T5 HO bulb (the fixture came with a free 5.0 bulb). Something else I found interesting is that Zoomed is now advertising that their T5 HO bulbs last for a full 12 months like the Arcadia bulbs. I plan on eventually getting a solar meter to be able to compare the decay rate between the new Reptisun T5HO bulbs and the Arcadia T5HO bulbs from LYR. The LED's come in separate modules that can be replaced individually as they wear out and they are advertised as lasting 20,000 hours. Each module comes with four 1 watt, 6500K High Output daylight LED's; two 0.5 watt, 620 nm Red LED's that provide correct wavelengths for photosynthesis & live plant growth; and one 60 milliwatt Blue LED that simulates "Lunar Effect" and provides for nighttime viewing (which I will not be using with my cham). There's a switch to allow you to control using only 6500k LED's only or 6500k LED's with the red LED's as well as a separate switch for the blue LED's. Here are a few of pictures for you. I apologize in advance for my crummy photography skills and some occasional light reflections...
Here's the current set up for my 2 year old Nosy Be, Poseidon. It's a 24"x24"x48" cage with two schefflera's and pothos inside. It currently has the 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO bulb in a matching Reptisun fixture for UVB, a Jungle Dawn LED bulb for the plants, and a 50w spotlight bulb for basking.
Here are a couple of shots of the box before I started setting up the new fixture.
Here are a couple of side by sides of the original T5HO fixture (single UVB bulb only) and the new LED UVB fixture. As you can see it's a bit larger/wider but should help get rid of some clutter up on top of your cage if you're currently using several lights and fixtures like I was.
Here's a close up of the LED module (sorry about the dog hair on the clear cover lol)
There are two separate cords. One standard cord for the T5HO bulb and a power supply style cord for the LED's.
Here's a shot of the switches. Forward-most switch is the three position switch for the white & red LED's, then the next one is a separate switch for the blue LED's, and the furthest-most is for the T5HO UVB. You can also see how slim the fixture is. I think it's only around an inch tall (give or take) and gives me a nice flat spot to set my dripper on that won't cause the screen to sag.
Here's a shot of the fixture installed on top of Poseidon's cage with his basking light. This shot has the UVB bulb with just the white 6500k plant lights turned on.
Here's a shot of the same setup but with the red LED's added. I'll probably leave these extra red LED's off until I get a hibiscus or other flowering plant to put in there to see if they really make a difference.
Here's a comparison shot of my two girl's cages. They're 18"x18"x36" and share a 36" double T5HO fixture from LYR with a 6% Arcadia bulb and a 6500k bulb for the plants. They also each have a 40w incandescent bulb for basking. This set up has worked very well and the pothos and hibiscus I use in them have really taken off ever since I got the fixture from Todd.
I've only had it installed for a couple of days now so I'll have to post some updates once it's been in use for a while. So far though, I am very impressed with the light output from the LED's and really like how compact the fixture is. I would say that the new LED and T5HO hybrid fixture is at least as bright as the double T5HO fixture and though it's probably closer to the tropic blaze quad fixture that I have on Loki's (2yo male Ambilobe) custom viv. Plus, having the LED's provide the plant light instead of additional T5HO bulbs should help cut down on the power bill since they use about half the wattage as a single T5HO bulb for the same size fixture. This may be something worth considering for people who have several chams and are concerned with their electric bill (I know I am lol).
Hopefully this write up will help others interested in these new fixtures and if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.
