Re: Additional basking in new, tall area of habitat.

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Posted by John-Paul on May 16, 2002 at 11:10:09:

In Reply to: Re: Additional basking in new, tall area of habitat. posted by Mr. D on May 16, 2002 at 09:07:22:

Mr. D, are all merc vap bulbs as expensive as the Active UV bulbs? I'm thinking of getting one or the other, but i'm just waiting a bit longer to see what the lasting effects are for igs exposed to them. I'll probably end up trying one pretty soon though.
John-Paul: Take a look at the mercury vapor bulbs out there. The Actives and PowerSuns actually ARE producing as much as 50 microwatts/cm2 at over 2 feet away from them. Just got a new radiometer in so it would be easier to tell just how much exposure everyone around here is getting. If you're talking strictly heat for basking without any UV then a regular incandescent flood bulb may work but if the ig isn't getting enough UV exposure.... Over the course of a year, the cost of running a single merc vapor bulb vs. two fluo tubes will either balance out or actually turn out to cost less for a merc vapor bulb. Add to that the additional production of heat, roughly 5x more UVB than produced by a fluo tube and I personally cannot justify purchasing fluo tubes any longer provided you have the correct setup for a merc vapor. We're currently runing 24 merc vapor bulbs here. They DO produce a fair amount of heat so make sure that the enclosure is large enough to handle one and still provide a good therml gradient. Feel free to drop us a line if you have any Q's....

Follow Ups:

Well...Define "expensive".. Mr. D 05/16/02 (1)
- Re: Well...Define "expensive".. John-Paul 05/17/02 (0)

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: Mr. D, are all merc vap bulbs as expensive as the Active UV bulbs? I'm thinking of getting one or the other, but i'm just waiting a bit longer to see what the lasting effects are for igs exposed to them. I'll probably end up trying one pretty soon though. : John-Paul: Take a look at the mercury vapor bulbs out there. The Actives and PowerSuns actually ARE producing as much as 50 microwatts/cm2 at over 2 feet away from them. Just got a new radiometer in so it would be easier to tell just how much exposure everyone around here is getting. If you're talking strictly heat for basking without any UV then a regular incandescent flood bulb may work but if the ig isn't getting enough UV exposure.... Over the course of a year, the cost of running a single merc vapor bulb vs. two fluo tubes will either balance out or actually turn out to cost less for a merc vapor bulb. Add to that the additional production of heat, roughly 5x more UVB than produced by a fluo tube and I personally cannot justify purchasing fluo tubes any longer provided you have the correct setup for a merc vapor. We're currently runing 24 merc vapor bulbs here. They DO produce a fair amount of heat so make sure that the enclosure is large enough to handle one and still provide a good therml gradient. Feel free to drop us a line if you have any Q's....

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