Uvb fixture from Bunnings?

[Krissy90]

hey guys! Newbie here!
I was just wondering if anyone can tell me if Bunnings has any flurescent fixtures suitable for a 10.0 reptisun uvb. A pre wired one would be ever better! I have had a look on their website (all look the same to me) and googled endlessly but to no avail so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
krissy.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Hi @Krissy90 do you mean the flouro light tube reflector housings?? Like this??

 

[Krissy90]

Yes they have some at bunnings that look like this, the ones you would usually use outside your home or in a garage! Just not sure which one to get as they all look the same, all I know is it needs to be a T8, am hoping they sell one pre wired! Just trying to save a few dollars as I’m needing a couple more and not looking forward to spending upwards of $60 on them anymore

 

[Scutellatus]

They would be suitable, one thing though, without a reflector shroud some of the light will be lost making it less effective. It will also become an annoyance for you shining in your eyes.
An electician could wire one fairly cheaply, I am not sure how much, but a batten from bunnings wired by an electrician should be cheaper than a pet shop bought item.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Yeah I don't know if that style would be any good to you as they are designed to throw light outwards to light a vast area like an underground Carpark, garage etc. The ones we use over reptile aquariums, terrariums, vivs, etc have the reflector to concentrate the uvb downwards. The light tube is set back inside the reflector to direct it and prevent it from spreading outwards.

What are you specifically using the lighting for, what animal?

 

[Krissy90]

Thankyou both very much for your advice, makes a lot of sense. It’s for one of my blue tongue skinks and was going to use a second one for another baby bearded dragon I’m getting. I already have one 4ft petshop one and one 2ft petshop one but was wanting to not fork out as much but perhaps I should, won’t do it if it’s making the bulb almost useless, one would be a 10.0 (beardie) and one a 5.0(bluey) and both would be mounted inside the tanks if that makes any difference.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

In aquariums for instance, light that hits the side glass above the water line passes through the glass and is lost, light that passes through the water's surface before hitting the side glass is reflected back into the tank. So in the case of a fish or turtle tank, you'd get away with that fitting by simply filling the water level to the top however, UVB doesn't penetrate water anyway so that tube would be ineffective in that scenario but just to physically light an aquarium, it would work.

 

[Scutellatus]

You could make a reflector out of some stainless steel offcuts, but that is dependent on what type of enclosure you are using and if you can fix the shroud to top of the enclosure.

 

[Krissy90]

So I just found the one I was after! Already wired. Don’t know how I missed it before! So I guess next thing would be if there is a way to make a makeshift reflector - perhaps out of foil or something? Any ideas if this would help? If it comes down to it, I’ll just buy the generic petshop ones

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

So what sized T8 reflector are you after, 4ft, 2ft or both? And single or twin fittings? I can have a look around and see what's the cheapest price. If you were in my area I could give you a few Aqua One spares... 2ft single, 2ft dual and 3ft single that I have just gathering dust.

 

[Krissy90]

I h

You could make a reflector out of some stainless steel offcuts, but that is dependent on what type of enclosure you are using and if you can fix the shroud to top of the enclosure.

I have no idea what shroud is and I probably will be no use playing with metal so maybe I’ll give it a miss..
[doublepost=1517092421,1517092338][/doublepost]One 2ft and one 2-3 ft (4ft enclosure but it’s wooden so don’t know if I’ll actually fit a 4ft in properly if that makes sense)
That’s very kind of you! Where are you located?

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I replace all the reflective strips in mine regularly with that silver alfoil coloured contact stuff that you can get in large rolls from Kmart... the stuff you cover kid's school books with. Works a treat.

Good as new!

I'm in Toowoomba, QLD.

 

[Scutellatus]

I h


I have no idea what shroud is and I probably will be no use playing with metal so maybe I’ll give it a miss..
[doublepost=1517092421,1517092338][/doublepost]One 2ft and one 2-3 ft (4ft enclosure but it’s wooden so don’t know if I’ll actually fit a 4ft in properly if that makes sense)
That’s very kind of you! Where are you located?

Shroud is another name for a reflector. Well the full name for it actually: Reflector shroud.
It isn't too hard to make, but if you aren't confident with metal I understand it may be confusing.

 

[Krissy90]

Considering my dad is a boilermaker and I used to help him all the time I should be confident in it haha but I’m quite clumsy and will probably end up hurting myself or the batten haha! Good idea though!! Appreciate it

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I have another tip for you, if you're keen to save a bit of $$$ when buying UVB tubes... specifically the 4ft 10.0 rated ones... Don't fork out big $$$ buying Reptisun or Exo-Terra... Go to a lighting and electrical store like Middy's or TLE and ask them for an NEC T10 BLACKLIGHT. The product code is FL40SBL. I have used these for YEARS and saved a fortune. You get 4ft ones for around $18 each. T10's are a little wider than T8's but the end caps are universal and still fit in a T8 fitting. They smash out more UVB too and are a superb UVB option.


T10 compare to T8


[doublepost=1517093581,1517093358][/doublepost]Here's some specs for you regarding the Blacklight.

 

[Krissy90]

That’s absolutely amazing thankyou so much! I don’t know what to look out for with the specs but I take it shows that it matches or is better output then the 10.0, would you recommend putting them outside the tank as to not give off too much uvb or no? Also perhaps these would work well with the bunnings fixture without a reflector.? Just a thought as they give off lots of uvb..
[doublepost=1517094536,1517094042][/doublepost]If I’m reading correctly it gives off uvb 8.0? Is this ok for a beardie who requires 10.0? Maybe placed on the mesh. Sorry. I am a pro at everything bearded dragon or blue tongue but no idea when it comes to these lights, never heard of them before! I just want to make sure I’m still giving my beardies they’re specific needs, blueys not too fussed about, they’re very hardy haha.

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

That’s absolutely amazing thankyou so much! I don’t know what to look out for with the specs but I take it shows that it matches or is better output then the 10.0, would you recommend putting them outside the tank as to not give off too much uvb or no? Also perhaps these would work well with the bunnings fixture without a reflector.? Just a thought as they give off lots of uvb..

T10's and T8's need to be within 15cm of your basking reptile for them to take any benefit from it.. T5's are the high powered ones with need to be 30-45cm away so as to avoid causing photokerato conjunctivitis.

Here's one of my turtles basking under the black light, it's only 12cm away from the floating dock... You can see how close the blue light is...

So in your case, it'd definitely be best to suspend the fitting inside the enclosure.
[doublepost=1517094698,1517094562][/doublepost]The Blacklight has been compared to the Exo-Terra 10.0 and gives off the same amount of UVB. The same rules apply, they need replacing every 6 months. Black Lights are far cheaper when it comes to replacing twice/year.

Turtles require the highest amount of UVB and I've not had one case of soft-shell, metabolic bone disease, shell rot or calcium deficiency syndrome since using these lights.

 

[Krissy90]

You’re absolutely amazing! Thankyou so very much! Kinda gutted I just spent $150 on a 10.0 uvb and the fixture haha. But here’s to saving on bulbs and new fixtures with the new reptiles to come! )

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Despite the very large peak in the spectral chart at around 350nm, this tube actually produces more UVB power than most "reptile" branded fluorescent tubes.

All blacklight tubes are going to have a much stronger spectral peak in the UVA wavelength as this is true blacklight wavelength anyway.

The UVB peak is going to always be much smaller in comparison, but this is not a bad thing.

According to the tests done that I have seen, the NEC Blacklight produces much more power in the UVB range than all other fluorescent tubes.
The reason that the reptistar/reptiglo lights produce a white light is that they have phosphor on the tube. The phosphor is what is used in normal fluro tubes and turns UV light into visible light. Fluro tubes only produce UV light and need the phosphor to make visible light. NEC T10 only have a small amount of phosphor, this is why they are much better than other brands.

These were originally manufactured for the purpose of being put in office buildings where people worked their days away indoors at a desk and never got any sunshine.

 

[Krissy90]

Ah that makes so much sense! Very interesting! Glad I’m learning something hahha. Also only just saw your comment re: the silver contact, hard to tell in pic, did you just get that sheet you cut out and cover the entire of the inside or did you cut three thin pieces and place like that? Just trying to work out if there’s any part on the inside I’m not meant to cover( sorry if I’m horrble with wording, haven’t slept in 46 hours haha)