Uvb 5 vs the 10

R

Richardslusser111

Guest
Hello,
Have a question that's been bugging me. Setting up a new enclosure. For a panther chameleon. With t5 ho reptisun 5 being out of stock. Can i use the reptisun 10 t5 bulb. Can use a bulb that's about 6 months old on a bearded dragon. Wanted to replace it with longer fixture anyway. Just not sure don't want to hurt chameleons eyes or health in general. Wanted just bite the bullet an use a reptisun 10 t5 h0. But dont want a vet visit. Using a reptibreeze enclosure so most of uvb is being filtered out with fine mesh. Just wanted second opinion is all. Maybe it'd covid but everything lately is out of stock. With 5% bulbs
 
Richardslusser111 said:
Hello,
Have a question that's been bugging me. Setting up a new enclosure. For a panther chameleon. With t5 ho reptisun 5 being out of stock. Can i use the reptisun 10 t5 bulb. Can use a bulb that's about 6 months old on a bearded dragon. Wanted to replace it with longer fixture anyway. Just not sure don't want to hurt chameleons eyes or health in general. Wanted just bite the bullet an use a reptisun 10 t5 h0. But dont want a vet visit. Using a reptibreeze enclosure so most of uvb is being filtered out with fine mesh. Just wanted second opinion is all. Maybe it'd covid but everything lately is out of stock. With 5% bulbs
Click to expand...
It will be totally dependent on your distance to basking with the fixture sitting directly on the screen top.

A T5HO 5.0 or 6% arcadia bulb needs a total distance of 8-9 inches to the basking branch for an approximate 3 UVI.

A T5HO 10.0 or 12% arcadia bulb needs a total distance of 11-12 inches to the basking branch for an approximate 3 UVI.

So yes you can use the stronger bulb but the distance to the branch has to be correct so they are not overexposed.

Also if it is a baby that will screen climb you have to make adjustments so that it is not sitting on the screen right below the fixture. This is typically acheived by raising the fixture 4 inches off the top then the distance from the screen to branch would be the difference based on bulb strength.
 
Richardslusser111 said:
Hello,
Have a question that's been bugging me. Setting up a new enclosure. For a panther chameleon. With t5 ho reptisun 5 being out of stock.
Click to expand...
Can you try another vendor or get an Arcadia 6%? Reptisun & Arcadia will both fit the same fixtures.

Richardslusser111 said:
Can i use the reptisun 10 t5 bulb. Can use a bulb that's about 6 months old on a bearded dragon. Wanted to replace it with longer fixture anyway. Just not sure don't want to hurt chameleons eyes or health in general. Wanted just bite the bullet an use a reptisun 10 t5 h0. But dont want a vet visit. Using a reptibreeze enclosure so most of uvb is being filtered out with fine mesh. Just wanted second opinion is all. Maybe it'd covid but everything lately is out of stock. With 5% bulbs
Click to expand...
I agree the distance to a 10.0 will have to be increased. I would do this by raising the lamp above the enclosure top; this will attenuate exposure, and be less hassle than lowering the basking site and raising it again later.
 
It also depends on your fixture itself - a single reflector dome is the most efficient. I have a quad and if I were to use a 5.0 it would be too weak. In a perfect world you'd measure it with a UVB meter. Some reptile stores/vets will have them on hand for clients to use if you make some measurements and bring the light in (you'd need some mesh to shine it through).
 
Connorology said:
It also depends on your fixture itself - a single reflector dome is the most efficient. I have a quad and if I were to use a 5.0 it would be too weak. In a perfect world you'd measure it with a UVB meter. Some reptile stores/vets will have them on hand for clients to use if you make some measurements and bring the light in (you'd need some mesh to shine it through).
Click to expand...
You have a photo or a link to you're quad? Been looking for one but no luck finding it. Thought be good with a plant plant.
 
If you want a quad look at the vivo sun. They are much better then the odyssea. I started out using the Odyssea, the last one I bought tried to catch on fire. But just keep in mind the output for heat from quads is much more then others. I prefer the vivosun dual fixtures and they sell them on amazon. They have single reflector for each bulb so you would still want the 5.0 or 6% bulb and a distance to basking branch below would be 8-9 inches. Then your second bulb would use the daylight bulb that comes with the fixture for the plants.
 
Beman said:
If you want a quad look at the vivo sun. They are much better then the odyssea. I started out using the Odyssea, the last one I bought tried to catch on fire. But just keep in mind the output for heat from quads is much more then others. I prefer the vivosun dual fixtures and they sell them on amazon. They have single reflector for each bulb so you would still want the 5.0 or 6% bulb and a distance to basking branch below would be 8-9 inches. Then your second bulb would use the daylight bulb that comes with the fixture for the plants.
Click to expand...
I can't speak to the Odyssea model you had specifically, but mine has three cooling fans in it. I have read reviews that the models that lack the fans tend to overheat. Mine has been running for 2.5 years without issue.
 
Connorology said:
I can't speak to the Odyssea model you had specifically, but mine has three cooling fans in it. I have read reviews that the models that lack the fans tend to overheat. Mine has been running for 2.5 years without issue.
Click to expand...
Yep I had the one you had at first. Worked great. Bought it from LYR and then he stopped carrying them. Not sure what happened over the last few years. But quality has gone down the tubes. I bought another one and it kept blowing bulbs. Then I tried again and the timer display was messing up. The replacement for that one is the one that caught on fire. Someone else in the forum had one catch on fire as well.
 
Beman said:
Yep I had the one you had at first. Worked great. Bought it from LYR and then he stopped carrying them. Not sure what happened over the last few years. But quality has gone down the tubes. I bought another one and it kept blowing bulbs. Then I tried again and the timer display was messing up. The replacement for that one is the one that caught on fire. Someone else in the forum had one catch on fire as well.
Click to expand...
Yikes, well thanks for the heads up. Have you used the vivo sun quads personally? Any issues there?
 
Connorology said:
Yikes, well thanks for the heads up. Have you used the vivo sun quads personally? Any issues there?
Click to expand...
So my initial quad like you have I bought around the same time you did. That one worked great and I never had issues with it. The only thing I hated about it was the one reflector for all of the bulbs because of that I had to use a 12% UVB bulb and I had to have my branches closer to get a three UVI level. I do not personally use the vivosuns. But I have friends that do and they love them. You do have to use the 5.0 or 6% bulbs with them.I ended up switching to all individual fixtures from Pangea reptile. I wanted to be able to have them each on their own timer so I could have a gradual lights on and lights off effect.
 
Beman said:
If you want a quad look at the vivo sun. They are much better then the odyssea. I started out using the Odyssea, the last one I bought tried to catch on fire. But just keep in mind the output for heat from quads is much more then others. I prefer the vivosun dual fixtures and they sell them on amazon. They have single reflector for each bulb so you would still want the 5.0 or 6% bulb and a distance to basking branch below would be 8-9 inches. Then your second bulb would use the daylight bulb that comes with the fixture for the plants.
Click to expand...
Don't want any fixtures to catch fire lol. Had a zoomed mini dome smoke an spark from top cord. Wasn't fun experience.
 
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