Uva/uvb fluro's, dichroic lamps and visual light questions

[bigi]

i have been reading up on UVA and UVB (2 seperate spectrums) and what is required for desert living herps, ie RTM's, Dragons, etc.

Alot of the manufacturers of fluro's recommend using 10.0 fluro's for UVB, (assisting in vitamin D3) in combination with 2.0 fluro for UVA and visual light spectrum.

Whilst the book by Mike Swan Keeping and breeding australian lizards refers to using Dichroic lamps in combination with UV. I am assuming this is refering to the standard Dichroic lamps from bunnings and alike in 20/25/35 etc watts that produce high intensity light and lots of heat (someone please confirm this) and the UV being (UVB 5.0 or 10.0) (not the UVA 2.0 fluro).

If this is the case am i right to say the Dichroic lamps produce UVA, therefore only a UVB is required with the Dichroic. And if so which is best for this species. Manufacturers do recommend 10.0 UVB. would a 5.0 be sufficient. I ask this because i am unsure how much UV light is transmitted from the 5.0 + 10.0 (zoomed), reflecting on the recommend dose of UV exposure per hour as detailed in Reptiles Aus Mag Vol 6 Issue 2 page 52.

Know thats a mouthful and makes my head hurt, but i am sure there are some wise and informed people who can answer these questions, thanks

 

[bpb02]

Way way way over my head

 

[Bushfire]

I'm unsure about the UV side of things with dichroic lamps but would have thought as they have the safety glass attatched, this would filter most of the UV out. The reason why the manufacturers recommended to use a UV 2.0 was because the light produced by the higher ratings (5.0 or 10.0) wasn't as bright as the 2.0; that and gets you to buy another of their product. When you look at lighting for your lizards look at heat, UV, and light intensity. Its no good if you have the first two but the light is dull. The Dichroic lamps as you said have a bright intense light and produces alot of heat. I really hate people keeping their lizards in dull lit cages make it as bright as you can, this would also stop your lizard looking up into dull UV lights.

 

[Profanicus]

UVB lights put out UVA as well.
A 10.0 UVB fluoro puts out more UVA than a 2.0 does, the 2.0 are mostly for cool visual light and anything with very low UV requirements.

For a desert dweller you want to be using a 10.0 for your UV, and you want your visual light source to produce heat as well, so for that use a bright, hot halogen or incandescent spot.

I am not clued in on dichroics, I read they are a "cool" halogen that reflects their heat backwards - I am not sure you'd want that for a beardies basking spot!

 

[the jungle guy]

with dichroics yes they do produce UVA but you must remove the safety glass which is a pain to do, not to mention this is unsafe for your reptile as we know dicroic love to explode when they blow hence the glass protection cover there but to also protect the bulb aswell its also known to smash the safety glass aswell there not a smart choice to use yes they look neat flush mounted but not practialy

as mention before most have a broad spectrum that cover UVA/B and being dragons i would use 10.0

also as mention provide seperate heat/light source as UVB doesnt give the best of light to being the lux up beardies love it bright, with a toasty hot spot and high UV exposure

oh also keep the bulb within 4-6inch of your reptiles most bulbs past 12" are useless and remember they have a life span of 6months and they start decaying rapidly and UV output is deminished just because it lights up does not mean its producing UV

hope this if of some help to you want more technical info just pm me

 

[bigi]

ok so saying all this a

A/ 10.0 uva/uvb (fluro) is required with a

B/ seperate heat/light source with high uva - can someone suggest a globe?


i currently run, 2 fluro's, 1 x 10.0 for uvb/uva and 1 x 2.0 for uva and also a seperate heat infra red globe. in an enclosure, and

i also run a 1 x 10.0 for uvb/uva with dichroic for light source and heat in another inclosure. Reading the book i am assuming this 2nd enclosure would be adequate but from researching further - Is it true to say it is lacking in UVA and requires a 2.0 fluro


thanks

 

[the jungle guy]

ok in all honesty

i would run a UVB/A coil 10.0 as its easier to move closer to the dragons or what ever desert species you have that needs the UV

and for the heat source dont waste your time on neodymium or what ever they try and sell goto bunnings and buy a nelson 50 wat par20 light about $8 same as then$50 reptile halogen bask bulb, i would keep the UV light close to the basking light IMO i wouldn't bother using a IR heat bulb thats simple and effective dont need all these other bulbs producing UVA or b etc the one coil producing both is suffice and hasnt failed me for over a decade

if you want any more technical details or anymore specific advice just pm me

 

[Profanicus]

i also run a 1 x 10.0 for uvb/uva with dichroic for light source and heat in another inclosure. Reading the book i am assuming this 2nd enclosure would be adequate but from researching further - Is it true to say it is lacking in UVA and requires a 2.0 fluro

No not true; the 2.0 provides visual light and not much UV (2% of it's output is UV).

The 10.0 provides 10% of it's output as UV. It gives off more UVA than the 2.0 does and is all you need for your UVA/UVB requirements.

See this graph of output of a 2.0 compared to a 10.0, I have highlighted roundabout the UVA area of the spectrum and you can see how much higher the 10.0 is:

 

[bigi]

oh ok now its making sense,

so the 2.0 is for visual light purposes mostly

so will the dichroic provide the necessary visual light replacing the 2.0 if i am running the 10.0

 

[Bushfire]

Yes it will bigi

 

[spongebob]

IMO the subject of light, uv and reptiles could go to 100 pages and still not give enlightenment...

I'll confine my comments to dichroic halogens which I do find extremely useful as basking lights. There are two varieties, the 12 volt version that requires a tranformer (with 50,35 and 20 watt globes) for herps that dont need a really hot basking spot, and the 240 volt range of globes (also found with 50,35 and 20 watt globes) for those that need it hot, such as goannas. Forget them as a source of UV though.

 

[bigi]

thanks to all, its cleared it all up, the idea for me is to remove one electrical item for animals that dont require night heat (remove the 2.0) and replace with the dichroic which is a cheaper alternative to infra reds or ceramics,
thanks