UVB Bulbs?

[HerpDerp]

I have decided to get a UV bulb for my WTF vivarium and I'm not really sure what I should be getting. The dilemma is that I'm using a 10 gallon aquarium hood for my lighting and it only holds two small bulbs. Right now I have a crappy incandescent bulb in there and one of the 26w compact fluorescent aquarium bulbs. This is hardly giving off any light at all so I want to replace the incandescent bulb with something that is going to give off nice light and help my plants grow/give my frogs good color. From my research I've concluded that zoomed makes the two repti-sun bulbs (tropical and desert), the avian-sun and the reef-sun bulbs and they are all exactly the same, just different price ranges? What do you guys suggest for the best quality bulb plus the best bang for my buck? I want to order tonight so quick advice would be awesome! Thanks!

[deranged chipmunk]

any specific reason as to why UVB? i would just put 2 cfl's with a 6500k color temp in there. you can get them at walmart for like $4 a piece.

[deranged chipmunk]

a pair of these should give you a decent amount of light, if you prefer 23w, you can shop around, but for $10, if you don't use them in your viv, you can use them around the house.
EnergySaver 13-Watt (60-Watt) T2 Compact Fluorescent Daylight (6500K) Light Bulb (4-Pack) (E)*-420091 at The Home Depot

[deranged chipmunk]

these would also work, a lot brighter, but at 5000k, not as beneficial to the plants, but they would not hate it
23-Watt (100W) Daylight CFL Light Bulb (4-Pack) (E)*-ES5M8234RS50K at The Home Depot

[HerpDerp]

The aquarium hood I'm using isn't deep enough for a regular CFL. It has to be one that is slightly longer and not as wide. Think a UVB bulb would do much more for my plants and frogs?

[deranged chipmunk]

No, i think a uvb light would be a waste of $$$. Petsmart sells the bulb you are looking for. Incandescent base, but long and thin. Loom for planted tank bulbs. I'm afk for a while (cooking dinner), so i won't be able to post a link. But 6500k, or close to it, is the color temp range you are looking for.

[HerpDerp]

Thanks, that's actually super useful. I wasn't sure how to know if the bulb would be bright enough. I can order it on Amazon with my points lol.

[HerpDerp]

Actually, I just had a 100w equivalent CFL kicking around and it does fit... barely. It actually sticks out a tiny bit, but with the exo-terra the screen is indented a little bit so it fits great and it nice and bright. And I still have the other bulb that actually is 6500k in there so the plants will be happy? Lol I don't know if it actually works that way or not but it looks a thousand times better.

[deranged chipmunk]

As long as one is 6500, you should be ok. I've grown nice, healthy plants with less

[HerpDerp]

There is a lot of indirect sunlight in the room they're in too so that helps. My pothos has rogue roots that have pushed through the false bottom to find water! It took me a couple minutes to figure out what I was looking at when I noticed it. My dracaena don't seem very happy though. They haven't really grown at all since I've put them in there.

[deranged chipmunk]

I've tried several species of dracena and never had any success in a terrarium environment. They seem to prefer the less humid environment of the house.

[HerpDerp]

I'll keep trying! At least if they die, I have the pothos that will gladly fill in for them. I would like to get a second bromeliade in there too. So either way no loss