full time light

i have been reading, and it was said that a bight uvb bulb isn't needed. i use it to help keep the temp up. i have a 20 long, with 1 uth on the side, and one uth under the tank itself. its hard for me to get the temps above 90. That is with on eof those stick on temp gauges. the temp is its highest with the lamp on but drops to 84 or so when off. Should i get a digital thermometer with probe before worrying, or go and get a night bulb and keep it on all the time? thank you

I would get a digital thermometer to find out what your temps really are, before making any other lighting/heating choices. Then...if you still need a lamp to keep things warm enough, I would highly recommend switching to a red or blue "night" lamp...or a CHE (Ceramic Heat Emitter) which plugs in just like a bulb but doesn't put out any light at all.

BP's don't need UV light of any sort...and direct, bright white light, even just during the "daytime", can sorely stress them out. (Learned this one the hard way, myself!)

Your temps sound like they may be too high. Those stick on thermometers are junk, but even if it was working it would be telling you the temp of the glass. You should be measuring the temperature of the surface of the substrate which should range from the low 80s to the low 90s on the warm side. The air temps usually hover around 82-86 with that gradient.

Get an AcuRite for hot/cold temps and the hygrometer (humidity). The stickies are only good for da' fishies.


One thing I found w/my CHE was that it got VERY! hot, and most definately needs either the dimmer or the thermostat to keep the poor critter from baking. I use the red night light lamps for heat instead of the UVA/B's.


:)

R

thank you very much. i'm going shopping tomorrow:oops: :sweeet: