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Old 24-01-2010, 09:47 PM   #4
Alan1
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Location: Sunny Scotland
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I've never used the uv strip lights but had thought about it and asked advice from a guy who knows about such stuff and this was the reply

Quote:
If you change to fluorescent tubes for UVB, then you are shifting to a
completely different method of providing UVB... what I call the "shade"
method, because good fluorescent tubes emit far, far less UVB than a good MV
lamp.
You may not be able to create basking zones with higher levels of UVB than
about UVI 1.5 - 2 (equivalent to about 50 - 60 uW/cm2 from an Arcadia D3+
with a 6.2 meter) with even the best tubes in reflectors (I would suggest
you consider the ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 or the Arcadia D3+ Reptile 12% tube,
fitted with a reflector. The reflector is essential
.)
But now, your aim must be to light a much larger area (which must include
the basking zone) because you are aiming to supply a lower "shade" level of
UVB to each tortoise, but increase the exposure time to a much longer part
of the day. The overall daily dose of UVB may therefore be similar.

Remember, the radiation from a fluorescent tube is greatest from the middle
of the tube and tapers away to each side. If you spread the tube over two
enclosures, the zones close to the dividing partition will have the highest
UVB and the areas near the ends of the tubes may have very little UVB. You
may want to plot out the gradient using your meter.
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