I'm at work now but I'll get the info tonight. Here is one site that shows light at distances.

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/fluorescenttubes.htm

I was mistaken on the 24in distance, it is actually 20in. I knew there was a reason I made the distance from the floor to top generally 20in or less in Dundee's cage. I also use two 48in 10.0 tubes in her cage

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0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

http://russiantortoise.org/uvb.htm

This is a site that also lists several kinds of lights and their output and recomended distance. The Reptisun 10.0 is not one of them, however it does show the distances for several common lights. I was wrong about the distance for an 8.0, it should only be 12in, sorry but I did indicate that I was not sure about the distance of the 8.0 tube. Merlin, can you show me where it states that the 10.0 is only effective to 12in? Everything I can find indicates that it is good at 20 to 24 in. I do agree that closer is better but one of the main reasons I got the 10.0 tubes was that even when Dundee was on her floor 22in from the light she would still recieve some UVB. Now when she is on her mountain she is about 12in, maybe a little closer but the point was to ensure that she was recieving some UVB anywhere outside of her hide. I do know that the levels of UVB drop considerably the further you get away from the source.

__________________
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

Every study I have ever read puts the maximum useful distance for flourescent tubes at 12 inches. If you look at your links, graph #2 shows that at 12" a Zoo med 5.0 reads 20uW/cm2 and the 10.0 reads 35uW/cm2.
At 20 inches the 5.0 reads 10uW/cm2. the 10.0 reads 17uW/cm2.
That additional 8 inches cut your UVB rate in half.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

At 22" there is very little viable UVB reaching your ig. I own one of the same meters used for the testing done on the uvguide site. No bulbs that I have tested have ever been in the range needed at that distance except for the merc vapors. Tubes diminish too quickly at greater distances. The number you are looking for should be no less than 50 uW/cm2.

You CAN help boost the UVB emissions by using foil. Line the back of the fixture with aluminum foil, shiny side out. Allow the foil to curve in an arc. Do NOT follow the sharp angles. By allowing the foil to curve it "collects" the UVB in a tighter field and aims a more focussed and condensed UVB reading onto the iguana...by nearly double the amount (depending upon the surface color of the inside of the fixture, white being the most reflective will give you up to a 22% increase...less reflectivve will increase this percentage).

You still need the tube closer though to take advantage of the extra emissions from the foil boost. At 22" it's still pushing the limits of a good reading.

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Veronica
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Exotic Animal Rescue of Henry Co.
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Richard, I think you probably mixed up some numbers and readings.
Some manufacturers specify a minimum safe distance (to avoid radiation burns), then there is the recommended distance (an interval where the radiation is more effective) and finally a maximum distance where UVB radiation becomes to thin to be effective (rule of thumb for fluorescent tubes: 12").

Prismwolf, there is no ig involved and you repeated what you said 8 posts ago =)

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

Actually no, I still maintain that the 10.0 bulb/tube has an effective range beyond 12 inches. The study shows at 16 in. the 10.0 has almost the same UVB as a 5.0 at 12 in. At 20 in about half as much UVB as at 12 in. but still more than two of the tubes tested at 12 in. and fairly close to all the others in the test at 12 in. Now I do not say that it is 20 plus inches the ideal range but that it does have an effective distance past 12 in. To my knowledge this is the only type tube that does have that property. My goal was to provide my bearded dragon with UVB light at any point aside from her hide. Her main points are her basking spot approximately 16 inches away and her mountain approximately 13 inches away which is where she spends most of her time, but she can be at one point 24 in. away from a tube. I use two 48 in 10.0 tubes in her enclosure. I feel, based on the study that this is a reasonable setup and provides enough UVB. When I get a UVB meter of my own I will be able to measure the exact amounts of UVB in any one area but until then I can only use the data I can find. I still cannot find a study with the 10.0 tube that shows that a distance of more than 12 inches is ineffective. Prismwolf, can you give me data on distances and the various UVB readings on the 10.0 Reptisun tube? I would be very interested.

__________________
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

Okay so here is where I run into a problem. Yes the website posts that information. So I need to know the truth about MVB combos and Flourescent uvb 10.0s . The MVB combo site says it produces more uvb and lasts longer. The 10.0 tubes say that previously disscussed about the inches away. How do I choose if I can't believe the info on the sites?!? Really though I do need some help.

I'm building a new bigger enclosure and can't figure out which way to heat and light it. It's 54in wide, 26in tall, and 24in deep. It has a ledge on one side about 16" from the top and another one the other side about 14" from the topThe fixtures will be mounted on the inside top. I guess I'll go take a picture..would've been easier.lol

I'm trying to figure out weather to buy a flourescent tube 10.0 that is 48 in long and two floodlights for heat and light (one a lower wattage for the cool side)
OR
to get 2 lights:1 for a 100 watt mvb combo flood with heat and uvb centered in the lid and 1 spot for just a reg 75 watt household bulb just for heat and light in the basking spot.

Sorry for such a long post I just really need some educated help! I need to decide so I can get these things in. Stickers is too big for his current 30 gallon and my old uvb is probably too old (7 mths)

Well it would depend on what distance your animal is going to be from the light. My enclosure is very well insulated and the heat from a MVB would be a problem. I need only a 75 watt basking bulb to heat the entire enclosure. From your description I really can only recommend finding out the wattage needed to provide a proper basking spot temp and then see how the rest of the enclosures temps are holding. If you can use a MVB bulb for the basking spot then I would go with that and maybe consider a 10.0 tube across the back over the ledges. The more UVB you can provide the better. The MVB provides much more UVB in one area and the tubes over a wider area. Hope this helps a bit!

__________________
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

Thanks it does help. When you said yours is well insulated that's got me thinking I might not need that much heat either...I've got an inch of styrofoam covered with grout on three of the walls. The styrofoam is what they insulate houses with so ...I guess I'll have to get the 10.0 tube and a reg bulb or two for now..and see how the temps work..thanks again

With the dimensions you mention I would consider two 48in 10.0 tubes. I have a lot of insulation as well and the glass is thermal pane. The Pella windows were less money and effort than building from scratch. With all of that insulation I am looking at maybe getting a fan hooked up to a thermostat so that if it gets too hot it will come on. I already had to switch back to a 50 watt basking bulb for a short while when the AC was not working right. Dundee may like it warm but I don't want to cook her!

__________________
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish