Habitat - Indoor :: lighting question

[falkor164]

So just start building my turtle habitat and one thing I been looking up and getting mixed answers on is lighting. I have a 48" light was planning on putting a reptisun 5.0 uvb in there unless other suggestion. Then what type of dome basking light? I have a 72 gal bowfront with basking area about 6 to 7 inches from top. Any thoughts?

[slider_keeper]

If you can get the UVB light 10-12 in. from the basking area it should be fine, look on the bulb's box and follow manufacture distance recommendations. As far as the basking light goes all you need is a incandescent bulb to heat up the basking zone atleast 10 degrees warmer than the water, you should be good to go.

[CactusJohn5]

I have been recommending and using regular light bulbs for a while now, then i looked into getting a ceramic heat emitter. They have a 5 year warranty and if you get a good one, it's "water resistant" I would recommend one over a regular bulb anyway.

[steve]

Which one(s) have that kind of warranty? I initially used those with my setup mainly because they are supposed to be splash proof. The main issues I had with them was their longevity but I also realized that I didn't like having a fluorescent lamp as their only light source.

[CactusJohn5]

to be honest, it actually doesn't say "warranty" but i am keeping my receipt and getting a refund if it dies before 5 years or 25000 hours, because it cost almost 30$!. Says right on the box "lasts 25000 hours or 5 years" so to me that is a warranty.

[steve]

Good luck with that... they always seemed to last around 3 months for me. FWIW, I'm using splash proof halogens (similar to the Turtle Tuff)... it produces a great warm light at only 50W.

[CactusJohn5]

Interesting! I don't have a strip for halogens. i think with the constant usage, anything is going to burn out quickly