Zilla Slimline Tropical 25 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture- junk?

[Knibitz]

so I did a bad thing and bought a uvb fixture without doing my research.

http://www.petco.com/product/111653/Zil ... ture-11165

I bought this thing. It was priced better than any other combo I could have made with a fixture and a bulb, and with my petco being sold out of almost all UVB bulbs - I decided to just get this.

But I got it home and started doing a little research

problem 1) it's UVB 25 - everything I'm reading, even for reptiles recommends no more than UVB 10. And even a chameleon forum was talking about how a UVB 10 burnt their chameleon (5.0s were recommended)

problem 2) it has a plastic cover over the bulb, and I'm seeing that that basically makes the light's uvb useless. HOWEVER, with it being UVB 25 - may
be it could filter it down to a more typical 5 or 10?? - that's the only logical explanation I can figure out. People are saying the plastic cover is easy to remove, but I don't have a screw driver long enough to fit in the hole to unscrew the thing.

Problem 3) reviews are pretty rabidly negative for this product. It seems to get 5stars from people who don't know what they're doing. all of the 5 stars are just "yay this is awesome" "perfect for my turtles" but the negatives have more educated responses. talking about like how the plastic filters out the UVB, that the bulbs are nearly possibly to remove and you'll probably end up having to buy a new fixture rather than replace the bulb. No comments on the UVB overkill though.


it seems like no one educated likes these things, so I think I'm going to take it back and see about investing in something better suited, now that I've learned ^^;


Does anyone use one of these?

I think I'm just going to take it back it's already a pain in the butt and killing my humidity since I have to have so much of my tank open with it, and after doing my research...it just seems like junk - unless anyone here has a different opinion.

[wodesorel]

Don't worry about the number - those do not remain the same from brand to brand. Zilla 25 is the same as Exoterra 5.0 is the same as Exoterra 100 CFls. All put out a mild amount of UVB that is meant to be like dappled sunlight and is used for tropical species. If anything, it'll be too mild.

[Knibitz]

Don't worry about the number - those do not remain the same from brand to brand. Zilla 25 is the same as Exoterra 5.0 is the same as Exoterra 100 CFls. All put out a mild amount of UVB that is meant to be like dappled sunlight and is used for tropical species. If anything, it'll be too mild.

ah! that's good to know ^^; I'm a complete newbie to UVB... (obviously)
how do you feel about the plastic cover over it all?

[wodesorel]

UVB is freaking confusing, and I sometimes I think they do it on purpose to get you to spend more.

It does look like the plastic needs to come off. Check out this link. The more expensive the pet, the more research hobbyists do, and some Chameleons run hundreds of dollars so I'd be more likely to trust in their advice: http://www.chameleonforums.com/zilla-sl ... ad-134204/

[Knibitz]

that was actually one of the posts I was reading that made me think I was useless >.<
yeah... I think im just going to take it back tomorrow and wait till they have bulbs in stock... or just go find another store >_> our petco is run down and sketchy anyway.

[akihisa]

I had one of those and after about a month it died, thought it was the bulb but no the fixture went out. You do need to take off the plastic as it filters all the benefit, with high humidity tanks I think it just kills them. I haven't replaced it, as I want something that will be able to take the humidity.