I know i've made a few posts about these bulbs now but i just want to get my tortoise out of the vivarium and into a tortoise table but need to know which is the best bulb to use out of the powersun bulb and Arcadia D3. Please help anyone.

Both are ment to be really good. The Arcadia is ment to be the new 'best' bulb, thats the one I'm going to get next If you're only going to use the bulb indoors then the 100w will be fine, BUT if using it outdoors as well, then I'd go for the 160w

I have the arcadia bulbs for both my set ups, and am very pleased with it. I got them after advice from the people on this forum. However, having said that it is each to their own and which one they want to buy. Both bulbs will be suitable, whichever one you choose. Just make sure that you read the set up instructions carefully and ensure that you set it up at the correct height and that the bulb hangs straight down and not on an angle. The temperature of the light is controlled by the height and not a thermostat.

Gail
xx

Hi

I have 2 of the Arcadia D3 bulbs and they are very good. I have the 100w and find these get the temperatures spot on.
The best place I found to purchase these and lots of things are..
Surrey Pet supplies and they recommend these refectors which I have and are also very good.
http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/zoo- ... xture.html

Hope this helps

Jeanette

Has anybody seen the UV results from these two lamps. I wanted to compare them to the UV I get from my tubes

Hi Janet

I think Dave is the one for the UV results. I am sure he is one of the members who takes lots of readings etc. I am sure he will be along soon to pass on the information.

Gail
xx

Firstly, apologies to Beccah if I have clouded the issue for her.
I haven't personally tested these bulbs but I know a man who has. This is his test of an Arcasia and a Solar Glo. I'll try and tra k down a recent Powersun test.

"You may remember I was going to get a Solarglo 125w bulb to test against the 160w kindly donated by Arcadia, well I have and here are my findings...

The Arcadia is currently showing 182 uW/CM2 at 12 inches which is the same as it was when the test was started.

The Solarglo is currently showing 39uW/CM2 at 12 inches which is the same as it was when the test was started.

How long have I been testing the bulbs I hear you ask, well a whole 2 hours . Yes, I got the Solarglo yesterday (fortunately for only £24 odds online and not the £43 asking price in P.A.H.).

Yes, the Solargo is producing a whopping 39 which is around 10 uW/CM2 LESS than the old Solarglo I took out .

Since the bulb is guaranteed only to light up for 6 months it looks like I'm landed with it, no mention of how much UVB it produces apart from 'optimum levels'. On the other hand, Arcadia state that their bulb produces around 180 or 185 uW/CM2 at 12 inches (can't quite remember which) and mine is showing 182.

I had a Megaray which produced only 70+ when new and was down to 54 within 4 months or so.

100 uW/CM2 from a bulb = 195 from the sun and that is good, 80 is still decent but 39 is just plain cr*p.


BTW, the temps are more or less the same on both bulbs even the the Arcadia is 160w, Solarglo 29c and Arcadia 28c both at about 14 inches now and after a couple of hours. I will take temps again later, might need lowered.

EDIT> temps are now 34c under both at 14 inches or thereabouts after 6 hours on

This'll only confuse matters but this is an email from Frances Baines of UV Guide. Its talking of the importance of replicating natural light by measuring the UV Index of a bulb not the UW/CM2 output. It has a recent test result for a powersun though.


"However, mercury vapour lamps have totally different spectra, which usually have a higher proportion of UVB in the shorter, more photoreactive wavelengths (more "powerful" in terms of their effect on skin).

So the reading on a Solarmeter 6.2 (which measures the whole of the UVB region, not just the shorter wavelengths)from sunlight can't be compared to the reading from a mercury vapour lamp. It's a bit more complicated. I use a combination of a 6.2 and a 6.5 meter and work out a formula for converting the readings to UV Index units.
What brand of mercury vapour lamp do you have? It makes a great deal of difference.... If it's a fairly well known brand that I've measured recently, I can give you a rough idea of what the Solarmeter reading would be, to make the "strength" of the UVB roughly the same...*
To get about UVI 3.5 with one of the new MegaRay Solar Raptor 100-watt bulbs, you'd want to aim for readings of about 140 uW/cm2. 200uW/cm2 from one I measured last week would give a UV Index of 4.9. That's fine, but it's more like full tropical sun a bit later in the morning, maybe around 9.30am.

If you were using a ZooMed Powersun 100W, however, you'd want to aim for readings of only about 40 uW/cm2. These have a far higher proportion of their output in the shorter wavelengths. 200uW/cm2 from a new 100W Powersun I measured last August would give a UV Index reading of UVI 18.5. That's higher than the strongest tropical sun at sea level on the equator."

So, in summary, I'd go for the Arcadia. When I look to get new bulbs in the autumn I'll get an Arcadia and a new megaray raptor and test them. See who's boss.

But for now, the big UV lamp in the sky is still shining and long may it continue.

But for now, the big UV lamp in the sky is still shining and long may it continue. [/quote]


I'll second that