Equipment Review and Discussion :: im looking for a better hood

[bms016]

OKay i have a 30 gallon tank (measures 30 inches wide, 18 tall, and 12 deep) i think thats how im supposed to measure. anyhow i have the standard hood that came with it and i have a reptisun uv bulb in it. but i have no basking lamp...

ive been looking for a hood that i could put on my tank that had a basking lamp in it, but i cannot find one on the market. I know that Zoomed used to had a SliderHood , but i can neither find it or figure out how it worked.

ive looked at several pictures of peoples tanks and noticed that a lot of you don't have anything between your fluorescent lights and the water... is this safe? its something i worry greatly about, because when most light bulb get wet after being hot they shatter...

can any of you experts help me out here? i do plan on getting a larger tank eventually, but for now i live in a dorm and 30 gallons is the largest we can have.

[PcBuilder14]

if you put glass between UVB and water it reduces the amount of UVB that gets to your turtle.

[Chrisbarnett]

Get a screen top, or make one out of eggcrate, aka light diffuser.

I would recommend one made from light diffuser, it sits right on the lip of the tank, so it sits flush with the top. I just recently did this with my moms 55 gal fish tank for her, and it looks pretty sweet.

and for my tank, I just cut out a spot for the heat bulb so that it won't melt the plastic, and the UVB sits on top.

and UVB doesn't get limited through glass, it gets blocked.

[JimmyJam]

Wanted to chime in on this and see if a screen like chicken wire could be used.

[Chrisbarnett]

It can, if you can reinforce it somehow, or put it into a frame so that it will fit the tank nicely.

[PcBuilder14]

That is what I did here's a pic.




I just bent 1 line of squares by putting it on a towel on the edge of samething and just push down on it with my hand. It doesn't look pretty, but if you wanted you could by some spray paint and spray it black so it looks like one that you would buy.

[Daniel3507]

just be sure it cant be pushed off

[Squishy]

Our 75-gallon fish tank is covered by two panels of black corrugated plastic with a light in the middle. There is a small wire frame down the centre of the tank to prevent the panel from sagging; you probably wouldn't need this if you have a center brace.

The turtle tank doesn't really have a cover. The entire top of the tank is a basking/land area made out of black egg crate, acrylic glass, and black corrugated plastic.

[bms016]

so... heres what i have now:


reptisun 10.0

inthis hood(except 30 gallons not 55...)

click the link ^^^


are you telling me that im basically wasting my bulb since theres a glass shield there

im really just worried that water is going to get in the electrical and on the bulb and break everything...

[meltedspork]

are you telling me that im basically wasting my bulb since theres a glass shield there

im really just worried that water is going to get in the electrical and on the bulb and break everything...

Sorry, but yes, you are wasting your bulb. There is an easy fix though, you can break the glass shield

I have a 55g tank and I have the same type of hood over half of my tank with the same UVB bulb. My boyfriend took a hammer and broke the glass and then we used a pliers to rip out any leftover pieces. Of course it is not recommended to do that, but it has worked for us so far.

BUT, you NEED a heat lamp!!! And you need UVB that is over the basking area. I have the tube UVB just as an extra, it is on the side of the tank that doesn't have the basking area. I also have a compact UVB and heat lamp over the basking area.

[bms016]

BUT, you NEED a heat lamp!!! And you need UVB that is over the basking area. I have the tube UVB just as an extra, it is on the side of the tank that doesn't have the basking area. I also have a compact UVB and heat lamp over the basking area.

thank you for your response. im about to make about a 200$ purchase including the xp3 filter, 2 digital thermoters, 200 watt heater, and a acryllic turtle ramp.

i guess i will add in a screen top to that.

what heat lamp do you suggest and what kind of fixture?

[meltedspork]

thank you for your response. im about to make about a 200$ purchase including the xp3 filter, 2 digital thermoters, 200 watt heater, and a acryllic turtle ramp.

i guess i will add in a screen top to that.

what heat lamp do you suggest and what kind of fixture?

For a fixture, get something like this:
http://www.petco.com/product/9469/Fluke ... Lamps.aspx

And for a bulb look at these:
http://www.petco.com/product/12323/Zoo- ... Bulbs.aspx

http://www.petco.com/product/102892/Zoo ... -Lamp.aspx

You can get the exact same type of bulb at WalMart, Target, Home Depot, etc... for a lot cheaper if you want to save some money. There are other types of basking lights also, so take a look around at the pet store. I just find it cheapest to buy the halogen lamps at WalMart.

Also make sure to get the correct wattage bulb for the fixture that you buy. I use 75w because my light is relatively close to the basking area.

For a UVB light you can use the same type of fixture and get one of these:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2752555

As for a screen cover, you will need something that has at least 1/2" gaps in order for the UVB to pass through. Many people use this:
http://www.collins-consulting.org/orchids/eggCrate.jpg
It's called egg crate or light diffuser and you can get it at a hardware store.

Hope that helped.

[bms016]

could i also just buy this kind of clamp lamp?

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... 178+502806



thank you for that list!!!

[meltedspork]

That link doesn't work for me, but I think any clamp lamp will do, as long as it has a ceramic base (the part where you screw the light into the socket). If it doesn't have a ceramic base it won't stand up to the heat from the bulb.

[Daniel3507]

and just be sure it can handle the wattage of the bulb thats going in it