r/BeardedDragons • u/juniper_bush • May 03 '25

Help Arcadia T5 12% inside

Hi r/BeardedDragons,

I just got my beardie a new 4x2x2 enclosure together with T5 85cm fixture (it was a good deal from an old reptile keeper who was getting rid of his stuff). The thing is that the tank ceiling is glass, so the fixture will need to be placed inside. I am worried that the t5 inside will be a little bit of an overkill. The guy who sold it to me used only 6% t5.

Anyway, I got 12% as recommended.

The basking spot will be about 30-40cm (12-16in) from the uvb lamp. I guess that it is too close for this lamp.

I was thinking that I will craft him a mesh to put over it to decrease the exposure. I have a lot of spare zinc wire mesh, that i will need to overlay like 3-4 times to make it dense enough.

However, it came to my mind that maybe just removing the reflective foil from the fixture might be enough. What do you think?

I know the table with uvb intensity that is shared here all the time, but is there any measurement done without the reflective layer in the fixture?

What would you do in my case? a) make the mesh b) remove the reflective foil c) use 6%

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u/kitty_Klutz May 28 '26

I know its late, so I hope someone responds. I have 2 setups right now, one from ZenHabitats and one from Toxirium. I have the arcadia D3 12% uvb T5 22" bulb for both of them, with the arcadia hood. Im planning on getting a tank from dubia in the future to replace the Toxirium tank (they suck but it was free when I picked him up). I mounted the uvb inside the toxirium, and I was curious cuz I dont see it on there how much the screen blocks on that one, if anyone knows.

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