Habitat - Indoor :: UVB Bulb 12" Inches Away?

[tenlientl]

I just purchased a Powersun UVB/Heat Bulb(100Watt) http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=74 . Damn. $90 Canadian without tax

Anyways. The instructions said it must be 12" inches away from the basking area. Meaning I'm gonna have to buy a stand because if I clamp the lamp on my aquarium, it'll be like 9 inches. I read somewhere here they're doing it at 10 inches and no one said anything about it.

Also. The manual says to have it directly on top. Can't I have it tilted? Here's a pic. The manual says dont do the one on the left, do the one on the right.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/299/bulbuvqf8.jpg
http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bulbuvjn2.jpg

PS:dont you guys love my art?

[marisa]

I'd follow the mfgrs instructions for distance. Mercury vapor bulbs give off a lot of heat. You can see this if you check the basking area temp with a thermometer. Leave it where your turtle would bask for at least 20 minutes and check the temp (putting the thermometer on an object the height of your turtle's shell would make it more accurate). Two inches can make a lot of difference---if it's to hot, your turtle at the very least won't bask.

They should be positioned as the mfgr states and should be in a ceramic fixture since they do give off all that heat.

[tenlientl]

I factored in what you said. Check the temp of the height of the turtle's shell. It was 87 degrees. My water is around 75 degrees.

So that's fine then? But i'm still worried bout the lamp/bulb being tilted. Why does it have to be straight down?

[DavidY]

I factored in what you said. Check the temp of the height of the turtle's shell. It was 87 degrees. My water is around 75 degrees.

So that's fine then? But i'm still worried bout the lamp/bulb being tilted. Why does it have to be straight down?

I'd still have it 12" above where the turtle's back would be on the basking platform. Aside for the temperature issue, the bulb manufacturer warns that the UV radiation within 12" of the bulb is too strong and will cause damage to the skin and eyes. I know it's still not as strong as natural sunlight but turtles in the wild do not receive full strength sunlight every hour of the day and every day of the year either. It's better to follow the manufacturer's instructions and not take the risk.

The bulb is designed to be mounted and operated in a vertical position. These are specialty bulbs that contain an inner high pressure mercury vapor discharge tube. I'm not sure of the exact reasons for the vertical position requirement, but I wouldn't fool around with it. At the very least, if you mount it at an angle you will most likely shorten the life of the bulb.

[SpotsMama]

In addition to the life of the bulb, there's an issue with the turtle's eyes. If the light is at an angle, light rays are more likely to shine into their eyes, which isn't good. If it's straight up, it's like the sun at noon. The rays will not shine into the turtles eyes, which are on the side of his head.