Habitat - Indoor :: My future tank setup, need advices/opinions

[octpusgirl8]

It's only necessary if you want additional lighting over the tank for whatever reason. The important thing for the turtle is having the UVB/heat over the basking area where he/she can absorb it. UVB doesn't penetrate through water very well.

[wezeles]

The UVB will travel some distance but the further away you go the weaker the UVB is.. most the time UVB bulbs are flourecent eaither compact light bulbs or the long tubes...

but on a 20 gallon tank i think you should be fine having one on each side.. the UVB will help light the water up aswell just have it aimed at the basking dock with no obstructions... a cheep clamp lamp is about 8-12 dollars buy 2 of them

one fixture with a regular house hold bulb above a basking area

one on the opposite side with a UVB compact bulb pointed at the basking area as well..

that should work till you need to upgrade the tank

[mikee]

a-no -- Your turtle need two things, at the same time, you need. (1) You need the uvb to help with the metabolism and (2 the heat from the uva to warm them up while basking. The uva can be just a normal light bulb for the heat. The water should be heated to 77 to 79 degrees and the basking area to 89 to 91 degrees. Turtles like the temperature difference between the two. The natural sun gives them both.

[LOBO]

so if i set up a long uvb tube along the length of my 55 gal tank and had a uva bulb over the basking area would that be sufficent?

[octpusgirl8]

Yes that would be fine.

[wezeles]

so if i set up a long uvb tube along the length of my 55 gal tank and had a uva bulb over the basking area would that be sufficent?

same setup i use on my 80 works great...

[marisa]

Get a UVB light (it provides UVA rays as well) and use a regular incandescent light bulb to provide the heat. You want both lights positioned over the basking area. For the light bulb, use a wattage that will warm the basking area 88-90F (check the temp with a thermometer).