Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Whats the difference between a Powersun Bulb 160watt bulb and a Powersun Bulb mercury 160 watt powersun bulb.

In stores i see the mercury one for like $90 and the other for like $40. Most of the time on the forum i see people say the bulb they use costs around $40-$50 so im assuming if the first bulb most use. Am i correct in this assumption?

is it true that is still a debate that the mercury buld makes that much of a difference?

Do you have links to these products somewhere? The Powersun (I thought there was only one - in two wattages) is a mercury vapor bulb. I don't use them because of lousy UVB output and frequent early blowout. Is there something new on the market?
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_i_0/104-6743782-0886315?ie=UTF8&keywords=powersun&rh=i:aps,kowersun,i:garden

the bulbs im trying to compare is the second and third bulb. I too heard about the lousy UVB output and frequent early blowou.

Can anyone clearify the difference and maybe even suggest an alternative. My apartment is constantly warm so ideally i would like one bulb that can provide heat, light, and UV.

Though it pasted wierd, if u copy and past the link it will still open.

The difference at what you're looking at is a flood lamp vs. a spot lamp, if you look really closely at the top of the 48.00 160 watt one you can see at the top of the box on a black label with yellow words "Self Ballasted Mercury Vapor Flood Lamp", that's the one you wnat, but I would follow the other link to LLL that I posted in a similar topic down the forum a little they're closer to $40, I would reccomend at least to bulbs a UVA and UVB.
HH

I'd be surprised that having ornates you wouldn't see a significant improvement with a 160 watt PowerSun bulb. $.02
HH

I posted this below as well, but I think it important that everyone at least research MVBs before bringing them into their home. I suppose I consider it my civic duty to ask people to, lol.

http://www.anapsid.org/mercuryvapor.html

That post is admittedly somewhat dated, but I think her points are still valid. Especially if you or anyone in your home is young, old, is already toxin sensitive, or already has an autoimmune problem.

My $.02 :-D

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
Madison, Wisconsin

I'd read that in it's entirety a few years ago. It's an informative article, but in my opinion kinda conspiracy-theory-ish. It doesn't offer anything but opinions and warnings. From everything I've ever read, UVB does not penetrate glass, her statement saying that if that's true then how does UVB get through the glass of the bulb is faulty. This isn't supposed to sound very scientific because I'm not a scientist but the glass part of the bulb is actually an integral part of what makes a bulb emit light. Without the glass to hold in the vapor, or the vapor itself, or the electric coil that excites the vapor there would be no light. Logically to me it would seem that the glass is actually assisting as much as the other parts in emitting the light. If you don't use it as a tanning bed or stare at it until it burns your eyes I would have to assume the benefits to your animals/plants outweigh the risk of any of the un-named ailments that the article refers to. It is a good read and I do appreciate articles like that being shared with people, but I feel that it should be filtered just like all the other information that goes into a decision such as which lights a Uro needs. 8-)
Respectfully
HH

Actually, while the Anapsid site overall is decent, that article is mostly out of date and inaccurate. Common sense should be used when using MVBs, but common sense should also be used when using fire and pointy objects, too.

Two excellent sources about UVB in general and mercury vapor bulbs are the UV Guide and the UVB Meter Owners' Group on Yahoo (a quick google will find it for you) - you don't need to own a meter to join the group. Both sources are excellent and can provide more current, scientifically based information. A great many papers on UV are archived both places, plus you can ask pretty much anything you can think of and get good answers (sometimes way over my head).
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

I posted it only to present another opinion to get people who had not, to look into all of the options and ramifications. The article is both older, and from a specific point of view, however as a person who also has an autoimmune disease most likely brought on by environmental factors present everywhere, I just want people to think about things they bring into their house. That was my main goal, as far as the utilitarian usage of MVBs that is a personal decision, and probably best informed by the forums you mentioned Torey, from a strictly "how much UVB do they output" point of view. However, similar to whether to have mercury fillings placed in your teeth, or what you use to clean your house, I don't think the companies and government necessarily present all of the considerations, that is our job as consumers to identify.

Hopefully it is clear that I am coming from a perspective of concern and thought provocation, as opposed to a high horse, or confrontational. I have the utmost respect for the long time keepers on the forum, as well as their preferred husbandry methods.

Elizabeth
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1.0 Mali Uro Archimedes (May he rest in peace)
0.0.1 Egyptian Uro Zuberi Mosca Khu (Mosca)
0.1 Sulcata Minnie
1.1 Iguanas Flik and Loki
Madison, Wisconsin

It's always good to see all points of view! Better decisions from more information.
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Saharan Uros (Joe and Arthur)
3.0 Mali Uros (Spike, Turtle, and Tank)
1.1 Ornate Uros (Scuttlebutt and Shazzbot)
0.1 Collared Lizard (Rorschach)
2.1 Green Anoles (Bowser, Sprocket, Leeloo)
1.1 Chubby Housecats (Roscolux and Jenny)

haha Some things Melissa Kaplan writes aren't too bad. Some things she writes are very bad. That article really does read like a big conspiracy theory.

All of the more rational concerns about UVB exposure being too high is clearly addressed in more up to date research at http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ . Natural UVB levels reach as high as 450 uW/cm^2. Of course, thats probably at midday and it may change depending on sun position in the sky and whatnot. But, aiming for 150-250uW/cm^2 at the basking spot is completely reasonable with all this new research.

The more irrational conspiracy concerns that "ActiveUV lied to her about" are very easy to explain had she done just a touch more research on the subject. The glass on a UVB lamp is made out of quartz. haha UVB passes right through quartz glass. The glass walls of the aquarium/terrarium are not made out of quartz, and so absorb a substantial amount of the UVB.

And of course, anyone should always take reasonable precautions... i.e. don't stare at the sun... don't stare at the light bulb... if you have some sort of skin reaction to UVB, you should know how to properly take precautions against that. Enough isn't getting through (or getting out... mercury vapor bulbs all project downward and don't have good lateral projection at all, see website above for plots that show this) to cause any damage in a reasonable or normal situation. And you can estimate the correct distance from your bulb using http://www.uvguide.co.uk/ if you don't order a bulb from somewhere like reptileuv.com which pre-measure the exact output of each bulb for you.