Habitat - Indoor :: Light Bulb

[raptr20]

I have done alot with my tank lately. added a above tank basking area, heater, and a new filter. i am wondering however about light bulbs. right now i am using a Zoo Med Turtle Tuff Splashproof Halogen Lamp (90 watt) and a normal light bulb. i dont think this is the right setup tho. i am trying to find a good cheap light bulb for my tank. I usuly shop at petco and pets mart. any help would be great.

i have been having internet problems so i am online every other day or so

[Vtolds]

You can just use a normal 75 watt house bulb to produce heat on the basking area. Dont forget about the UVB bulb...the repti glo 26watt 5.0 uvb bulb is around 14 bucks.

[raptr20]

so what is this tuff light good for?

are you saying i should not use this light bulb and just use a norma night bulb and a repti glo?

[donchewliano]

I was using an exo-terra heat bulb and it worked fine, when I built my above tank basking area, I found it was producing too much heat, so I switched to a normal household light bulb. Keep the basking area at 94 at it hottest spot. I use that with my 5.0 UVB bulb and Hurley is all set.

[KeithBT]

If u have a heater u haft to have a heat bulb and a UVB light unless u get a MVB bulb that produces both heat and UVB, but MVBs are expensive and it shouldn't be for tanks under about 55 gallons because it can get the water to hot

[BullDog]

The turtle tuff light is not a uvb light. You can still use that one for warmth (As long as the basking temp is about 10 degrees higher than the water temp). You will still need to buy a uvb bulb. You can get compact fluorescent bulbs that fit in a regular light socket. These bulbs actually say "5.0 UVB" on them. "Full-spectrum" bulbs don't cut it.

[industrial_girl_2000]

UVA bulb = can be any normal house-hold bulb because they give off "heat", like the feeling you get on your skin when you are out in the sun too long & your skin "feels hot." Turtles have really bad circulation but UVA helps the blood circulate when it heats up your turtle. This helps them digest food, have a healthy immune system, etc.

UVB bulb = special bulb that gives off "UVB radiation". This is the light that penetrates deep into your skin & can cause premature aging of the skin (you always hear about that on TV!). UVB doesn't "feel hot." UVB helps your turtle absorb calcium which is good for their bones/shell. UVB also helps your turtle get better "colors" on their skin & shell.

[marisa]

raptr20, the Tuff light is halogen and gives off more heat than a regular incandescent light bulb; it also is supposed to be more resistant to breakage if water splashes on it from, for example, a diving turtle. I've used halogen lights, but never that one, so I can't say how tough it is; it is considerably more expensive than a regular incandescent lightbulb, though, and the latter is fine to use (you want the basking area temp to be in the range of 88-90F and the wattage you use will depend on the distance the bulb is from the basking area).

As was noted, you still need a UVB light. UVB lights also give off UVA rays, so you don't really need to worry about them. (The UVA rays from a household bulb are minimal, or so I've read).