are two 5% equal to one 10%

[Jeremyisking]

i currently have two 5% tubes mounted 10 inches from jeremy (my iggy) in his basking spot, however im constantly concerned that he is not receiving enough uv rays. would a single 10% improve this or maybe two.

he is healthy and ive researched alot , but i find with these type of things experience from other keepers can help clear the minefield of advice on the web.

any ideas welcome.

ben

[cordylidae]

no it doesnt work like that it
it is beneficial to have two tubes (put reflectors on then if you havent already) or a megaray would be the best choice

whether its right for iggs i cant comment on cos i dont know to much about them

[ginnerone]

No it just means you would have a wider distribution on 5%UV

[martindean30]

powersuns are ace!!!! They give out a stronger blast of UV!!! Great but expensive!!

[jschristy]

Just get a megaray mvb. Or a metal halide bulb. Metal halides are as close to the sun as you'll get You can get quality ones from reptileuv.

[Jeremyisking]

i feel my two 5% are ok but at that distance im a little unsure , and ive heard of people using 10% even though id say they r more for desert dwelling beasts , but im still unsure .

the power sun bulbs, do they have a percentage uv say for a 100 w bulb , im guessing it supplies the same heat as 100w spot lamp but how does the uv compare.?

[Cheese]

Not much different i know but arcadia do 6% uv bulbs.....

Arcadia D3 Reptile Tube 6% UVB Light

[Jeremyisking]

currently have a 100 w basking bulb if a replaced this with a 100 W powersun , and kept one of the tubes above basking spot to keep the existing lighting conditions , then i feel this would put right all my fears of him not gettin enough uv .

what you guys think??????

there is so much equipment out there , so many options , nothing but experience can point you at the right gear.

[Jeremyisking]

currently have a 100 w basking bulb if a replaced this with a 100 W powersun , and kept one of the tubes above basking spot to keep the existing lighting conditions , then i feel this would put right all my fears of him not gettin enough uv .

what you guys think??????

there is so much equipment out there , so many options , nothing but experience can point you at the right gear.

[Jim2109]

Originally Posted by Jeremyisking

and ive heard of people using 10% even though id say they r more for desert dwelling beasts

its a common misconception and really badly marketed by the reptile equipment manufacturers. the boxes always have a desert species on the box, and say for desert use, so most people assume that must be the case.

Iguanas are a fully sun dwelling lizard. in the wild they spend long periods out in the sun in some of the most intense areas of the world for UV radiation. most of them live in areas around the equator.

5-7% tubes give off less UVB at 3" than a cloudy day in England. ive taken actual measurements with my Solarmeter UVB meter to compare on an Arcadia D3 6% tube (which is one of, if not the, best "rainforest" tubes on the market for UV output, as per the tests on the UVguide website).

i currently run a 12% Arcadia D3+, apparently a desert bulb. but i use it for Chinese Water Dragons, which are very much a rainforest species. but like Iguanas, they spend a fair amount of time basking in direct sunlight in the wild.

the output on the 12% is a lot more than double that of the 6%, its actually 4-6 times stronger depending on the distance from the tube. whilst still not perfect, it gives a much more realistic UV output to their wild habitat, and is good upto about 8" from the tube. this is in conjunction with a reflector (the 6% was running a reflector as well). compared to the 6% tube which was useless beyond 2" the 12% is a massive improvement.

in terms of actual observations of my water dragons, they dont seem any more active with the stronger UV, to be fair they have always been crazy and jumping around all over the place so i didnt expect this. their colours are more vibrant, they spend less time up really close to the UV tube and instead choose to bask about 4-6" lower down, which means less chance of eye and skin damage from getting too close to the tube.

depending on the size of your vivarium, you can get away with a 12% tube provided there is a basking site is within 4-8" from the tube. if it is a large vivarium (which i expect it is for an Iguana) then youll be much better off with a Megaray bulb, a Metal Halide to be specific.

with regards the original question, doubling up on tubes definitely doesnt double the output. it does seem to give a slight increase at further distances, maybe 10-20%. but as said, it spreads over a wider range as the bulbs can be placed a distance apart. youre much better off with a Megaray bulb though IMO.

if you want to read about the measurements i have taken of my UV tubes then search for threads started by me and youll see the 2 experiments ive written about.