Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I recently acquired a new tank for my Dragon that is 48X18X24. I am trying to set up some sort of MV/Halogen setup. I cruised the mega ray site for hours and gleaned that perhaps a 160 watt Mercury with a high wattage halogen would be good- However I sent them an email and they have not returned it in Three weeks. I am thinking of just getting a name brand at the next show- Can anyone guestimate what a good wattage would be? Thanks,
Zach

If I understand correctly, you are considering using a 160watt UVB producing mercury vapor bulb and a halogen light? In my experience with any halogen light, they put out alot of heat...and are very bright. As your cage (I am assuming its 4' long, 2 feet wide and 18" high) isn't really tall enough to mount MVB UVB lights (most manufacturers recommend 16 to 18" above basking site) inside the cage, it definitely needs to be outside. But these lights do produce heat...and unless you are wanting to use it as the main heat source, 160watts really isn't necessary for a tank that size.

I would go with a 120 or 125 watt, or better yet use a UVB florescent tube (repti-glo or repti-sun 8.0 or 10.0) and mount it underside the top, this will ensure maximum coverage of UVB in the tank (make sure the fixture is at least 3' long...4' if it can fit inside the lip of the tank, one reason I prefer using cages bigger than the minimal floor space of 4'x2'. easier to find 4' fixtures and UVB bulbs, than 3' ones) and a regular incandescent flood/spot light type bulb of about 120 watts (if there is any screened walls or top to the tank. Or its kept in a cool room,)

If your tank is a glass aquarium, and the lights are all going to be mounted outside...and not resting directly ontop of a screen top, 160 watts may be necessary, as most of the heat will not get into the cage. One reason why I feel mounting lights outside a cage is a waste, as you lose most of your heat and UVB long before it even enters the cage.
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PHLdyPayne

Forum Princess

I agree with the previous post for the most art. I just want to add what I did with my own tank. As far as heat escaping from the screen top... I was worried about that too... but I was also worried about it getting too hot inside since I do not have central A/C and the temp in my house changes depending on time of day and who is home or at work. We just have A/Cs in the windows. I have a flourescent bulb fixure on top of the screen and also two domes... one with a bulb and one ceramic heat emitter for night time. The thing I do is use a board that fits on top of the screen top. It's maybe 1/3 of he length of he top. That way I can use one heat bulb/dome but when the A/C is on and it is a bit cooler in the house and I cover part of the screen with the little board and the inside of the tank will go up a little bit. When my son got our first beardie a long time ago the first bulb we got was a little too weak and since we couldn't get to the store for a few days I put a big book on top of half the tank and it helped raise the temp in the tank. That was a long time ago but I have been using small boards off and on my tanks ever since then when I want to warm up the tank a few degrees. It's more economical that having two different bulbs with different wattages for every tank. This works great for me in the summer since the temp in my house is not constant at that time of year.
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Anne
East Coast Reptile Supply
www.eastcoastreptile.com

Hey, maybe this will help. I've found a free bearded dragon book. You can download it from here: http://www.beardeddragonbook.com It's free with over 100 pages
Link