Habitat - Indoor :: Temps and ratings for heaters and lighting

[CReeder14]

Ok, so when it comes to the heater i am going to put in my tank, I was going to get maybe two of the stealth 250 watt heaters... (my tank is 150 gallons) I remember someone telling me that depending on my location, I might need to get three of them... Well... I live in eastern Washington... geographically speaking it's just about in the middle of everything... summers can get up to and above 100 degrees and winters and get down to and below -10 degrees... And the tank will be located in the basment... which usually stays several degrees colder all year round than the more ventalated upstairs... Anyway, would I be good with two 250 watters or should i go for three?

Also, when it comes to lighting, I know that I would need a lamp for uvb as well as uva as well as something that gives off heat... is there such a bulb that would do all three safely? and also, what sort of power rating should i be looking for in a bulb? i see everything from things like 10 watts to 200 watts... and i have no idea what I would be looking for...

And one last thing about lighting... when I'm looking into getting a dome for the bulb, what is the significance of the dome diameter? does a different size of dome focus light more or less than a different size or what?

Anyway... Thanks...

[octpusgirl8]

I'm not sure about the heaters, you could always get the two and see how they do, and get another if they don't seem to be getting the job done. On the lighting issue, a mercury vapor bulb gives off UVB and heat/UVA. They're a bit more expensive than a regular UVB bulb, $40-50, but they last about a year and it's really nice to only need one lighting fixture. Turtles really seem to love basking under them as well. 100W flood should do the trick. For the fixture, avoid ones with a shiny metal inside, they tend to reflect and concentrate the UVB rays to an unhealthy level. Other than that, you just need to make sure that it's big enough to fit the bulb, has a high enough wattage rating, and if it's a MVB it needs to have a ceramic socket.