Equipment Review and Discussion :: Exo Terra Compact Top and Incandescent lights

[das808]

According to the site, it says it can support incandescent bulbs. Has anyone tried using a bulb higher than 26 watts, for example, a 40 watt daylight blue incandescent?

I just bought the 24 inch top that takes up to 3 bulbs. I bought 2-26 watt exo terra 5.0 bulbs and I wanted to use the 3rd socket for heating bulb. I'm just worried about overheating the lamp and its sockets.

Also, with this current setup if I were to use those egg crates/light diffusers from Home Depot as a lid for the aquarium, will it succumb to the heat produce by the bulbs? I don't want to come home to burnt house.

[Arisu]

Not so sure about first 2 questions, but the egg crate will survive. However, it is advised to cut a hole where the light/heat will be penetrating. The egg crate will defuse the light (hence, light diffusers) and heat.

[steve]

The maximum wattage is usually labeled on the inside. Since it is 26 watts, there is a danger if you use a 40 watt since to socket may not support it and the wires may not be of sufficient gauge.

[das808]

So, for heating purposes, is a 24 watt bulb sufficient if light is 8 inches away from basking platform?

[TheComputerGremlin]

24W incandescent 8 inches away? I doubt it. I have a 60W about 8 inches away and I'm at about 95 degrees.

I would recommend just using the lighting top as tank lighting and buying a separate fixture for the heat bulb. Besides, I don't know if you would be able to situate both bulbs over the basking area. I have that top except it only holds 2 bulbs, and I couldn't get them both over the basking area.

[TupacTheTurle]

I bought 2-26 watt exo terra 5.0 bulbs and I wanted to use the 3rd socket for heating bulb. I'm just worried about overheating the lamp and its sockets..

your using 2 UVB bulbs at once?

[TheComputerGremlin]

TupacTheTurtle - I use two UVB bulbs at once, though only one is really used for UVB. The other socket, I put the older used UVB bulb in and use it as tank lighting.

[silentaoi]

I currently have the Compact Top for 4 bulbs situated over my 30gallon tank (36" L x 12.5"D x 18" H). These are just my observations thus far.

Wattage

Do not use a bulb higher than 26 watts.

I didn't realize that 26 watts was the maximum and I put in a 50 watt incandescent bulb in one of the middle sockets and as soon as I flipped the switch, there was a flash and the bulb blipped out... After unplugging the compact top, I checked to make sure the bulb filament was still intact (which it was), put it back in the socket, plugged back in my compact top only to find that 1 of my switches (2 bulbs per switch) no longer works. The 2 sockets that that switch controlled are now "burned out" I assume and bulbs in those sockets are automatically on whenever the compact top is plugged in.

This doesn't create a huge hassle, just that now I need to unplug it from the wall outlet every night and plug it back in every morning.

Overheating

I currently have two 26 watt exo terra 5.0 UVB fluorescent bulbs and two 25 watt incandescent bulbs in my compact top.

7am - all 4 bulbs ON
5pm - 1 incandescent + 1 fluorescent ON (thankfully 1 of my switches still works)

So all 4 bulbs are on for at least 10 hrs a day and so far there have been no overheating issues.

Basking light

My two incandescent bulbs are 10 inches away from the basking platform and my thermometer is giving a reading of low-to-mid 80s degF.

Although the basking temperature should be around 90degF, the 2 incandescent bulbs seem to be sufficient for my 1 turtle of 2 inches.

Size

I find the 4-bulb top takes up too much room, and it leaves me with barely enough room to get my arm inside the tank. This makes in-tank adjustments (netting out excess food, fixing rocks, logs, etc.) difficult and cumbersome, unless you take the top off each time.

Final comments

If you were planning on buying this compact top to combine both your UVB lighting and your basking light in one fixture (like me), I would go another route. However since I spent $78 on this hood I feel obligated to use it to its fullest potential *sigh* Unless your basking platform is less than 4-5 inches away from the incandescent bulb, the 26 wattage issue is a major barrier if you want basking temperatues excess of 90degF.

Would I recommend? For my tank size and use, no. If I had known about all these little details, I would have just bought 2 light clamp/stand fixtures. It probably would have been cheaper, more versatile in its usage and it would definitely have taken up less space.


Hope that helps

[steve]

Thanks for the review silentaoi, and welcome to the forum!