Moonlight

[CharlesMTF]

The light fixture I have on my tank has the standard white light, as well as the blue moonlight. Is it ok to leave the moonlight on 24 hours (throughout the night)? Or, will that annoy them?

[soilentgringa]

The light fixture I have on my tank has the standard white light, as well as the blue moonlight. Is it ok to leave the moonlight on 24 hours (throughout the night)? Or, will that annoy them?

I wouldn't leave any light on for 24 hours, as it's a fire hazard and you risk melting or warping any plastic or acrylic pieces nearby.

They need a regular day/night cycle. Most people do 12 hours on and 12 off. If you're a nocturnal person like me, and the crabs, you can use a timer.

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[KayedeeLove<3]

Crabs have to be on a day night cycle to (or it recommended anyways)! I do led sometimes during the day. If I'm not actively viewing my tank i turn it off for the natural light. Same at night but with the blue on. Most important thing tho is keep day light brightness during the day and nighttime darkness majority of the night.

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[daws409]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

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[CharlesMTF]

Crabs have to be on a day night cycle to (or it recommended anyways)! I do led sometimes during the day. If I'm not actively viewing my tank i turn it off for the natural light. Same at night but with the blue on. Most important thing tho is keep day light brightness during the day and nighttime darkness majority of the night.

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Good deal... Thx.

[CharlesMTF]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

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The moon lights I have are blue lights... not black lights. It's the LED fixture from Beamswork.

These: http://amzn.to/2mlzOAV

[daws409]

The moon lights I have are blue lights... not black lights. It's the LED fixture from Beamswork.

These: http://amzn.to/2mlzOAV

Yea you definitely don't want to use those. You can use them for viewing purposes (hr or two) but not all night. I have some on a guppy tank and they're brighter than moon glo bulbs. If you want night lights, I suggest exo terra night sometimes called exo terra moon glo.

Edit: here's a pic

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[GotButterflies]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

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Moon bulbs are definitely not like black lights. With your straws what do you do about uvb? Straws need that to do well. That is why I prop my tops up and have my bulbs directly shine into the tank when I watch them. Uvb does not penetrate through glass, screen/mesh.

I use timers for mine as well. I have uvb bulbs for the day. At night I have a moon that is on the ceiling of the room my crabbies are in. I try to make it as realistic for them as possible.


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[KayedeeLove<3]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

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Moon bulbs are definitely not like black lights. With your straws what do you do about uvb? Straws need that to do well. That is why I prop my tops up and have my bulbs directly shine into the tank when I watch them. Uvb does not penetrate through glass, screen/mesh.

I use timers for mine as well. I have uvb bulbs for the day. At night I have a moon that is on the ceiling of the room my crabbies are in. I try to make it as realistic for them as possible.


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Awe <3

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[soilentgringa]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

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Moon bulbs are definitely not like black lights. With your straws what do you do about uvb? Straws need that to do well. That is why I prop my tops up and have my bulbs directly shine into the tank when I watch them. Uvb does not penetrate through glass, screen/mesh.

I use timers for mine as well. I have uvb bulbs for the day. At night I have a moon that is on the ceiling of the room my crabbies are in. I try to make it as realistic for them as possible.


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For UVB the best thing I've found is to get an under cabinet light fixture from Walmart (12-13" long) and get one of the long uvb bulbs (the 10) to put it in.

I am adding one to my 55 when I redo it.



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[GotButterflies]

That will look nice! I just don't feel comfortable leaving electronic devices in my crabitats


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[daws409]

Well, this is where my opinion is different. Yes, they need a day/night cycle! However, I use lights for heating instead of the UTH that most use. My lights are exo terra day and exo terra night (moon glo). I run my light system in sync with the seasons. (Our days get longer so I make theirs longer as well. More natural IMO.) Spring- 12 hrs day, Summer- 14 hrs day, Fall- 12 hrs day, and Winter- 10 hrs day. I have the lights on a timer and at a certain time every night (depending on season), the days go off and the night bulbs kick in. Then in the morning, night goes off and days come on. I never have 'lights off' in my tanks. But again, I use lights as my heat source.

Edit- moon glo bulbs are similar to a black light but made for reptiles. They are darker than typical night lights (for hallway, strairway, bathroom, etc...). Unless you're standing directly at the tank, you can't really tell they're on.

Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

Moon bulbs are definitely not like black lights. With your straws what do you do about uvb? Straws need that to do well. That is why I prop my tops up and have my bulbs directly shine into the tank when I watch them. Uvb does not penetrate through glass, screen/mesh.

I use timers for mine as well. I have uvb bulbs for the day. At night I have a moon that is on the ceiling of the room my crabbies are in. I try to make it as realistic for them as possible.


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I didn't say they were black lights. I said they're similar to black lights but made for reptiles. They produce a purple/blue glow similar to a black light which is why I used that comparison. As for uvb, I know that straws rely on uvb but for some reason I thought my day bulbs had this. After researching, they have uva not uvb. Definitely need to get that fixed! Thanks for pointing that out.

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[daws409]

For UVB the best thing I've found is to get an under cabinet light fixture from Walmart (12-13" long) and get one of the long uvb bulbs (the 10) to put it in.

I am adding one to my 55 when I redo it.

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Could you provide a link? @GotButterflies had me researching my bulbs lol. I found that I have uva not uvb. Definitely need to fix it since I have straws. I found some repti-sun bulbs (cfl's) but I don't know which would be better... The cfl's or the tens/long tubes. Thanks!

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[CharlesMTF]

Is it only the strawberries that benefit from the UVB?

[daws409]

Is it only the strawberries that benefit from the UVB?

All reptiles (iguanas, lizards, hermies, turtles, etc....) benefit from uvb. It helps to break down vita D which aids in calcium absorption. As far as hermits go, straws are found along the beaches where as other species are farther inland. (More sun on beaches, inland is more shaded.) In most species, it helps to increase activity levels and their color is often better. So yes straws rely on uvb more than other species.

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