Low UVB bulb recommendation?

[privet01]

IMO.....It's not really a question of UVA/UVB. Neither is of any use for growing any live plants you have in your viv. So my considerations for lighting are these:

1. Does the light and/or its fixture add too much heat to the viv? If it does, can I mitigate that someway?

2. What spectrum light works best for the plant you have? Buy the light that keeps your plants growing! Don't use more lighting than the plants need.

3. Do my frogs/toads normally live in a brightly lit environment? If not then pick low light plants. For either, you should have shady areas for them anyway.

4. Flourescent tubes still are the cheaper way to go.... again, IMO. They are so cheap, you can try the different spectrum bulbs out to see which you like better. Though LED's are getting cheaper and run cooler, they tend to be low quality and quit working sooner. But part of the last statement is based on some I tried years ago, no recent experience. Probably all your lighting will be cheaper at the big box home centers or a big discount store. You can just by the bare fixture and bulbs and make your own mount.

Oh.... getting back to the UVA/UVB thing..... The Sun puts out plenty. Their ancestors lived in a natural environment which included the UVA/UVB from the Sun. But if you have a choice, get the light that puts out the lower amounts of either, if it meets your other needs for growing plants. But as I said originally, UVA/UVB is of no value IMO.

[elly]

I'm happy with my LED growing lights, I'd just like to try UVB. Specifically, a bulb with the lowest UVB possible. I was just asking for any specific recommendations for low light UVB bulbs of normal lightbulb size.


Once again, I know the issue is controversial, and "frogs shouldn't need UVB" is a reasonable conclusion, I'd just like to try a little light supplementation.

[privet01]

Most all lights that are intended for normal lighting are low UV. Sure some are lower than others, but the difference is very little when you look at what the scale of too much vs none is. Fluorescent lights which I use probably put out the most, but it's still negligible IMO. Normal LED lights are typically lower to almost none.

The hard part about trying to provide a light recommendation is that simply saying you want a low uvb bulb doesn't really let us know anything. We really need to know what the purpose is for the light. Is it for basking, overall lighting, to provide warmth or do you need something that produces little heat, etc, etc, etc.

I still don't really understand your question though. Are you wanting to try out fluorescent grow lights and the color rating and UV stuff is concerning you?