Mercury Vapor Bulb?

[Emulu1]

Hello everyone, I finally got my 40 gallon breeder tank and want to begin the setup process. I have been feeling a little worried about the lighting and heating. The screen top my tank came with is somewhat thin and I feel it cannot carry weight for too long or it may cause a break. I have been informed that although mercury vapor bulbs can be expensive, they are long lasting and offer the UVB and heating necessary for the beardie. I think I will go with that but I wanted anyone's opinions. Also, do the bulbs go in a ceramic dome lamp or an aluminum? What is the difference between the two? Thank you

 

[Emulu1]

I read another thread that may have answered my mercury vapor curiosity but any opinions and advice are very welcome. I want all and any information

 

[ianedward1]

So I know that several of the questions you had were answered in one of my earlier threads but I just saw where you asked about the lamp itself. All the domes are going to be made of aluminum or some similar metal. The term ceramic dome refers to the base of the lamp itself (where the bulb screws in). A cheap walmart version is going to be made of plastic and will melt under the high temperatures. You can pick up domes with ceramic bases at pet stores or often times at farm supply stores (Tractor Supply, ACE, etc). The farm supply stores will often be much cheaper but the dome itself will be of thinner metal so I'm not sure if there are any temperature differences. I currently use both and don't notice a difference between the temperatures myself. Here are a couple of product links.
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Deep-...e=UTF8&qid=1365393596&sr=8-8&keywords=zoo+med
http://www.tractorsupply.com//Produ...oductDisplayErrorView&langId=-1&storeId=10151

 

[ashley7988]

I have a 40 gallon breeder as well. I use a dome that I got from the pet store with a halogen flood light for the heat light (it works very well and was cheaper than the basking bulbs at the petstore) you'll have to play around with the wattage to find what works for you. The digital thermometers with the probe is what I use and I check the temperature a few times throughout the day. I got a reptisun 10.0 tube bulb for UVB and got a simple fixture for the bulb from Home Depot and mounted it inside the enclosure with hot glue. Its best to give them unfiltered UVB rays and if you put it on top of the screen some of the rays get filtered and you'll have to replace the bulb every 6 months instead of a year. I'll attach a picture of my enclosure to show you how I set it up. If you think the screen is too thin to hold up the dome you might want to look into getting a stand to attach the dome to. They have these at petsmart and its not a bad idea to have one anyways so you don't have to keep moving the bulb around. I plan on getting one next week.

If I have all my information correct the MVB (mercury vapor bulbs) are not good for 40 gallon breeders, they should be used in bigger enclosures.