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Care sheets | Vivarium UVB Lighting Setup Examples

This page has been created on request for users to help with the setup process. Written with illustrations of the various setups I use, tested and which you can try for your bearded dragon vivariums. Main bulbs in all these instructions are made by Mega Ray, the timings shown are using their instructions. However, whether you are using Lucky Reptile Bright Sun UV Desert, Zoo Med PowerSun UV Bulbs, T-Rex Active UV, Exo Terra Solar Glo Mercury Vapour Lamp or any MVB lamps, please follow their instruction regarding useage hours.

Thermostats used in these examples could be either Habistat Dimming Thermostat Day / Night, Komodo Habitat Thermostat, Microclimate Dimming thermostat, but I use Lucky Reptile Thermo Control Pro II thermostat for temperature regulation.

As a rule, the minimum lamp to basking spot distance is 12 inches for most megaray bulbs.

Available configurations:

Megaray Mercury Vapour/Metal hallide EB & SB setup with fans
Megaray Mercury Vapour/Metal hallide EB & SB setup
UVB Fluorescent Strip light and normal Spot light
Beginners vivarium setup

Megaray Metal Halide or Mercury Vapour bulb vivarium setup using fans

Metal Halide with Halogen spot

This setup uses a Megaray Mercury Vapour (MVB) or Megaray Metal Halide (MH) as the main bulb, which can either be self ballasted (SB) or externally ballasted (EB) and uses a fan for circulation and cooling. A Thermostat can either be connected to the fan or spot bulb (halogen bulb in this example) to regulate the temperatures. Also, to further control the temperatures during different seasons, the spot bulb can be changed to different wattage for your viv. For example I use a 50watt in the summer and 75watt for the winter.

Fluorescent strip bulb

A fluorescent strip day glow bulb is use to provide ambient light and cover the light range (wavelength) not covered by the metal halide or mercury vapour bulbs.

Note: An observation that is worth pointing out for breeders, is that male dragons have been observed to have much heightened breeding behaviour when this fluorescent lighting is used and i believe its because a day glow bulb is within the light range that helps stimulates this kind of behaviour in bearded dragons.

Fan fitted behind ventilation grill

Using fans is what make this configuration self sustaining regardless of the weather and room temperatures. I'm sure users at some point have had problems with temperatures on the rare occasion of hot sunny weather in the UK. Problems when temperatures spike or go erratic in the vivarium. Fans are a solution and the fans used for this example is attached to the ventilation ports of the vivarium. You can use two fans with one is acting as an output and the other as the input flow. Fan configuration is most efficient with the basking end drawing air out and air drawn in on the cooler side (see illustration below).

Fan fitted behind ventilation grill

If you were to use a single fan configuration, it would be most efficiently place on the basking end and drawing hot air out.

Fans could either be connected to a thermostat or timer plug. I alternate between both configurations depending on the weather/season. During hot spells I would use the thermostat for temperature control. Other times I would use a programmable timer so the fan/s can come on for 10 mins every hour, this is just for providing circulation.

Information on how to build a home made fan system can be found by clicking here.

I have used both self ballasted and externally ballasted versions of these bulbs and lighting/heating/timing configurations are different between the two and explained below:

• Self Ballasted (SB) - Usually you don't need a spot light on at the same time as this bulb because SB MVBs usually produced sufficient amount of heat for basking.
• Externally Ballasted (EB) - You will need a spot light on at the same time as this bulb because it will not produce sufficient amount of heat for a basking area.

Timings:

Basically in this setup the EB MVB/MH Megaray bulb is on for 6 - 8 hours a day and the spot bulb will cover the whole 12 - 14 hour range with the normal fluorescent strip light on for the whole duration too, if a Self Ballasted MVB bulb is fitted, use the spot light to cover the times when the mvb is not switched on.

 

6 - 8 hrs Megaray Mercury Vapour or Metal Halide bulb

12 - 14 hrs Halogen Spot Bulb (See SB & EB notes or chart below)

12 - 14 hrs Normal Fluorescent Strip bulb

variable Fans - timings for this will vary because it all depends on the temps you get

 

Self Ballasted on/off timing chart

Externally Ballasted on/off timing chart

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Megaray Mercury Vapour/Metal Halide Bulb with fan setup illustration

Summary

I originally started off with a SB MVB, which was fantastic and have no complaints with it. I believe very much that it contributed to one of my dragons having richer colours and also grew to 18 inches in just 6 months! Recently started testing the Metal Halide version, these bulbs have actually been around for years and used in marine fish tanks. They produce near true visible light (lumens) as the sun and provide very good UVB. A comparison of the two will follow once I've finished testing this Megaray bulb.

Megaray Mercury Vapour or Metal Halide Lighting vivarium setup

This setup uses a MVB or MH bulb, which can either be self ballasted or externally ballasted. A Thermostat can be connected to the spot bulb (halogen bulb in this example) to regulate the temperatures. Also, to further control the temperatures, the spot bulb can be changed to different wattage for your viv. I use a 50watt in the summer and 75watt for the winter.

A fluorescent strip day glow bulb is use to provide ambient light and cover the light range (wavelength) not covered by the main bulbs.

Self ballasted and externally ballasted versions of these bulbs require different lighting/heating/timing configurations and are explained below:

• Self Ballasted (SB) - Usually you don't need a spot light on at the same time as this bulb because SB MVBs will on most occasion produced sufficient amount of heat for basking.
• Externally Ballasted (EB) - You will need a spot light on at the same time as this bulb because it will not produce sufficient amount of heat for a basking area.

Timings:

Basically the EB MVB/MH bulb is switched on for 6 - 8 hours a day and a spot bulb will cover the whole 12 - 14 hour range with the normal fluorescent strip light on for the whole duration too, if using a SB MVB bulb then use the spot to cover the times when the main bulb is not on.

 

6 - 8 hours Mercury Vapour or Metal Halide

12 - 14 hours Halogen Spot Bulb - stat connected

12 - 14 hours Normal Fluorescent Strip bulb

 

Self Ballasted on/off timing chart

Externally Ballasted on/off timing chart

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Megaray Mercury Vapour/Metal Halide Bulb setup illustration

A UVB Fluorescent Strip light and normal Spot light vivarium setup

This setup uses a normal spot light for the heat in the basking area and a fluorescent strip light to provide UVB lighting. A thermostat is connected to the spot light to regulate the temperatures.

Timings:

12 - 14 hours Spot Bulb - thermostat connected

12 - 14 hours Normal Fluorescent Strip bulb

 

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UVB Fluorescent bulb and Spot bulb setup illustration