Need help...heat and lighting large tank

[Kellie]

We have moved our beardie Leo from a 20 gal tank to a 75 gal. We are now having trouble with getting the temp and humidity regulated. We have a 100 w basking lamp, 100 w ceramic heat emitter, a 72 w which it says is equiv to 100 w and the Repti-sun 5.0 UVB light. Temps seem to stay in the low 80s while the humidity is typically in the mid- high 40s. What should we have in order to heat the tank properly? It's been about 4-5 days since we moved him so I'm worried about him being in these temps and humidity for so long. Please help! He is a juvenile.

 

[Eavlynn]

When I have to heat larger enclosures I go for a 150w CHE, and all open space on the screen top is covered. I cut a piece out of a large cardboard box to fit the open area(s), cover the bottom in aluminum foil, and tape all around the edges for a good seal. Heat rises, and this helps to keep it inside the enclosure.

 

[mxw0rld]

You definitely need a higher watt basking bulb, if not 2 basking bulbs at 150 watts.

You have to remember that you were using the 100 watt on a 20 gallon now you've almost tripled in size so you need more basking watts.

You can also get the higher repti sun bulb. That's what I had to do.

I went from a 20g tank to a 67g vivarium and I had to get 2 100 watt basking bulbs and the 10.0 repti sun, I too had the 5.0 - literally just bought it!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Kellie]

Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Kellie]

Thank you!

 

[PatsyB]

Get a higher wattage basking bulb and you can also try to move the basking spot closer to the light. 6" from the lights is the limit. Also Reptisun 5.0 is the wrong bulb for bearded dragons. You should get the 10.0 bulb when you can and it should be a tube style bulb not a coil or compact bulb.

 

[laswabbie]

Having a multi-level basking area also helps in that your beardy has options for finding the best spot for his needs at different times of the day.

 

[Kellie]

Thank you all for your help!

 

[Jonathan95123]

is there any preference on how much light there is?

Like is getting a ceramic only good to keep the tank warm at night or would having more light be preferable?

 

[mxw0rld]

is there any preference on how much light there is?

Like is getting a ceramic only good to keep the tank warm at night or would having more light be preferable?

Are you talking about at night? If so, do not use a light at night. A CHE is the best way to go but remember they need a cool down at night you can go as low as 65F.

 

[Jonathan95123]

Are you talking about at night? If so, do not use a light at night. A CHE is the best way to go but remember they need a cool down at night you can go as low as 65F.

i was curious during the day time, but thats good to know 65F at night is acceptable.
During the day, would it be better to have 2 lights or CHE/light combo (or any preference)?

 

[mxw0rld]

i was curious during the day time, but thats good to know 65F at night is acceptable.
During the day, would it be better to have 2 lights or CHE/light combo (or any preference)?

I guess that depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Can you tell me what bulbs you have and what size enclosure you have?

 

[PatsyB]

They really only need a UVB light and a basking light that gets their basking spot to the proper level. Any extra light would be your personal preference. I like having the whole tank bright so when I bought my T5 UVB fixtures I got the 36" ones that span across my whole tank. It brightens the whole tank but since the UVB doesn't put off heat, it doesn't heat the cool side of my tank. I just make sure they have a place to go to get away from the UVB when they want.