Ceramic broke, flood light problem.

[MrBosc]

Hi all,

I have some 50w halogen flood bulbs that where meant for my new bigger viv. However my ceramic stopped working so I popped a halogen flood bulb in there, I'd say the bulb is around 5 - 6 inches above from his body. However not enough heat is being produced, I could lower the socket but I'd be worried in case he pulled the socket away from the wires leaving two live wires. At the moment I have a bulb protector cage, and I have just left the halogen flood bulb resting on the bottom of the bulb protector cage so it's closer to the substrate and so that it prevents him from pulling the socket away from the wires.

He needs more heat but I'm confused as to what's the best way to go?

Thanks All

[murrindindi]

Hi, you need to give details of what the ceramic heat emitter was used for and it`s wattage (basking surface or ambient temps)? What exactly are you confused about, surely if the temps are not now high enough you need more bulbs/wattage?

[MrBosc]

Hi, you need to give details of what the ceramic heat emitter was used for and it`s wattage (basking surface or ambient temps)? What exactly are you confused about, surely if the temps are not now high enough you need more bulbs/wattage?
Infernalis said any 25 to 50w halogen bulbs should do the trick and I know a few other people who use halogen flood bulbs instead of ceramic heat emitters. My ceramic pumped out a shed load of hear but didn't cover enough of my Sav so the next idea was going to be use 3 halogen flood lights, this would give a greater radius of heat meaning more of the Sav would be heated up. However the ceramic is broke so I thought I may as well pop in the halogen flood bulb I already have, however it doesn't seem to pump out enough heat, I can't give an exact temp be aide he is lying on the probe, but I know from my ceramic that was controlled by a pulse thermostat that this halogen doesn't pump out no where near the heat of the ceramic. So my question is.. What am I doing different to other people who use halogen flood lights, I can't move it further down because I would run the risk of him pulling the socket away from the wires that power the bulb.

[jarich]

Most CHE are a much higher wattage so that makes sense. How are you measuring the temps? At that close you should be getting more than enough heat out of it. My 50s are about 8-10 inches away and get the basking spot up to 150. What is the basking area made out, is it a wood platform, stone, etc? That will effect what temp you are getting as well.

To be honest, Id recommend the covered sockets anyway. You are going to have a great deal of humidity in your enclosure and the back cover provides some protection both from humidity and from being pulled out by your monitor. Its basically the same socket as you have, but there is another ceramic piece that screws onto the back once you have the cord in place to cover over the contacts.

[murrindindi]

Infernalis said any 25 to 50w halogen bulbs should do the trick and I know a few other people who use halogen flood bulbs instead of ceramic heat emitters. My ceramic pumped out a shed load of hear but didn't cover enough of my Sav so the next idea was going to be use 3 halogen flood lights, this would give a greater radius of heat meaning more of the Sav would be heated up. However the ceramic is broke so I thought I may as well pop in the halogen flood bulb I already have, however it doesn't seem to pump out enough heat, I can't give an exact temp be aide he is lying on the probe, but I know from my ceramic that was controlled by a pulse thermostat that this halogen doesn't pump out no where near the heat of the ceramic. So my question is.. What am I doing different to other people who use halogen flood lights, I can't move it further down because I would run the risk of him pulling the socket away from the wires that power the bulb.



O.k, here we go.... The ceramic heat emitters are fine for raising the ambient (air) temps either during the night or in the daytime, but if in relatively high wattages they dry out the surrounding air because the heat`s directed all around. The relatively low wattage halogen (flood) bulbs direct heat downwards so they are best for creating surface temps at the basking site. You only need to know two temps; the lowest ambient (air) @ approx 24c (75f), then the SURFACE temp at the basking site @ between approx 50 to 60c (120 to 140f), no other temp matters.
You will probably need 2 or 3 halogens to create the basking site, you`re trying to make one low wattage one do what the higher wattage CHE did, it will never work! :no:
Can you tell me the usual ambient temp in the room the tank is in both day and night?

[murrindindi]

It`s not just about getting the surface temp, it`s also about heating the animal`s whole body, that`s why it`s usually better to use more than one bulb.
This is my Asian Water monitor`s basking site, I need to use more bulbs because of his size....
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8497/8322444543_e8b89cdbc2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/8322444543/)
100_1214 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/8322444543/) by murrindindi (http://www.flickr.com/people/62077372@N05/), on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8183/8098456051_7b1138d12a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/8098456051/)
100_1262 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/8098456051/) by murrindindi (http://www.flickr.com/people/62077372@N05/), on Flickr

[infernalis]

That bulb looks tiny also. The smallest I would use are the 5 inch round or larger.

They spread the heat better, and the glass does not get as hot.

[MrBosc]

Hi all,

After reading one of the posts it made sense that I should use more than one bulb. So I've popped two bulbs on strictly because that's the most I can fit in the bulb cage protector. The temps got higher and the air temp underneath was around 39 - 40 degrees Celsius but I don't have a temp gun yet to monitor the surface temperature of the basking area. To answer one of the questions I am using a piece of wood, I'm fairly sure it's like MDF maybe?

And yes Infernalis they are fairly small to be honest, they seem to be doing an ok job for now, but ill have to have a look for some bigger par 20 floods for my bigger vivarium

[murrindindi]

Hi all,

After reading one of the posts it made sense that I should use more than one bulb. So I've popped two bulbs on strictly because that's the most I can fit in the bulb cage protector. The temps got higher and the air temp underneath was around 39 - 40 degrees Celsius but I don't have a temp gun yet to monitor the surface temperature of the basking area. To answer one of the questions I am using a piece of wood, I'm fairly sure it's like MDF maybe?

And yes Infernalis they are fairly small to be honest, they seem to be doing an ok job for now, but ill have to have a look for some bigger par 20 floods for my bigger vivarium


Hi, try ebay for the halogen bulbs, I usually pay around £5 each, you need the 30degree flood, I use the Sylvania 75w "Hi-spot" 95. "95" is just the diameter @ 9.5 cm.
You may only need the 40 to 60w, it really depends on the ambient temp in the room to some extent as well as enclosure size, then raise/lower the bulbs or basking object `til you get the desired surface temp (or fit a dimmer switch).
If you don`t have a means of measuring surface temps, how are you controlling the monitor`s heat range at the basking site?

[MrBosc]

Hi, try ebay for the halogen bulbs, I usually pay around £5 each, you need the 30degree flood, I use the Sylvania 75w "Hi-spot" 95. "95" is just the diameter @ 9.5 cm.
You may only need the 40 to 60w, it really depends on the ambient temp in the room to some extent as well as enclosure size, then raise/lower the bulbs or basking object `til you get the desired surface temp (or fit a dimmer switch).
If you don`t have a means of measuring surface temps, how are you controlling the monitor`s heat range at the basking site?
Hi I don't suppose you have a link to those halogen on ebay do you? And without a tempgun what I did was look at what people's air temperature was for the basking spot. I assumed if I was outputting the same air temperature the surface temperature must be correct. I may not have explained that well but by rights my theory should work?

[murrindindi]

No I don`t have a link, but I`ve just ordered 3 of them from the following website: thelightbulb.co.uk
It cost me £21.08p for 3 including postage, I`ve used the company previously and they offer a very good service. The one`s I ordered (Sylvania) are supposed to last 3,000 hours (they do from what I`ve seen).

As far as guessing what the surface temp is, that would depend entirely on the object used as a basking surface, so in effect you have absolutely no idea what the surface temp is.
You don`t necessarily need a Temp-gun, any digital thermometer/hygrometer with a probe will work, the probe needs to actually touch the surface. Again, try ebay (I haven`t bought one from there but they do have them), just type in "digital hygrometer with probe".

[MrBosc]

No I don`t have a link, but I`ve just ordered 3 of them from the following website: thelightbulb.co.uk
It cost me £21.08p for 3 including postage, I`ve used the company previously and they offer a very good service. The one`s I ordered (Sylvania) are supposed to last 3,000 hours (they do from what I`ve seen).

As far as guessing what the surface temp is, that would depend entirely on the object used as a basking surface, so in effect you have absolutely no idea what the surface temp is.
You don`t necessarily need a Temp-gun, any digital thermometer/hygrometer with a probe will work, the probe needs to actually touch the surface. Again, try ebay (I haven`t bought one from there but they do have them), just type in "digital hygrometer with probe".
I'll have to take a look at that then and order some for my new viv. And I measure the temoerature of the basking spot with a digital thermometer anyway, but wouyld this give an accurate surface temperature? if so I could make the probe touch the wood. However right now there is a suction cup so it doesn't actually touch the wood it sits a few centimetres above the surface. So looking at the situation there is around 40 degree's celcius coming onto the basking spot.

[murrindindi]

No, you cannot take surface temps without either a Temp-gun or thermometer/hygrom. with a probe, it sounds like you`re measuring the air, and if it`s 40c directly under the heat bulb it may well be within the recommended range, but you need to know precisely. EDIT: You say you`ll order one for the new tank, but you need one for the current one asap.
Is this similar to what you`re using just now?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6881945734_c8dc7236fd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/6881945734/)
[/url][url=http://www.flickr.com/people/62077372@N05/] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/6881945734/),

[MrBosc]

No, you cannot take surface temps without either a Temp-gun or thermometer/hygrom. with a probe, it sounds like you`re measuring the air, and if it`s 40c directly under the heat bulb it may well be within the recommended range, but you need to know precisely. EDIT: You say you`ll order one for the new tank, but you need one for the current one asap.
Is this similar to what you`re using just now?
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7180/6881945734_c8dc7236fd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/6881945734/)
[/url][url=http://www.flickr.com/people/62077372@N05/] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/62077372@N05/6881945734/),
Hi Again,

Sorry I may not have made it clear that when you previously stated "the probe needs to actually touch the surface." I meant tyo say I have a thermometer with two probes, one for monitoring the hot end and one for the cold end. And what I have done (like you stated) was use the one probe for the hot end and make it touch the surface. So in knowing this do you reckon that will be ok to monitor the basking suface with the probe that I have touching the surface?

[Toothless]

You can get temp guns pretty cheap. I picked up a tiny temp gun for $20 a little while ago, and it was by far the best purchase I made. It gives a reading in seconds, and makes checking the basking spot on a daily basis easy and quick. I was guessing my basking surface temp for the first few months, and found that I was WAY off from what the temps actually were. Surface temp really depends on what the material is that's being heated. Soil, for instance, does not heat up as well as wood. Different types of wood retain heat at different rates. Rock heats up better than wood, with the type of rock and color being of strong influence as to the amount of heat it will retain. My best advice is to NEVER guess surface temps as so many factures come into play.

[murrindindi]

Hi Again,

Sorry I may not have made it clear that when you previously stated "the probe needs to actually touch the surface." I meant tyo say I have a thermometer with two probes, one for monitoring the hot end and one for the cold end. And what I have done (like you stated) was use the one probe for the hot end and make it touch the surface. So in knowing this do you reckon that will be ok to monitor the basking suface with the probe that I have touching the surface?


Thanks for clarifying, yes, you can monitor the surface temp that way, so what is the current surface temp range at the basking site and elsewhere?