Zoo Med Reptile Hood Combo or ESU Reptile Tri Light Hood?

[Guest]

Do any of you own or know anything about the Zoo Med Reptile Hood Combo and/or the ESU/Coralife Reptile Tri Light Hood? I'd like to find out which of these two is of a better quality and results. In addition, if anyone could provide me with brand names and watts of good quality bulbs to use on these hoods, that would be greatly appreciated. I am aware that I would need a flourescent light, day light and night light. By the way, is it really necessary to have a flourescent light, if so, what are the benefits to the crabs in having this type of light?

I have attached links of these two fixtures.

http://www.reptiledirect.com/reptiletri-light.aspx
http://www.reptiledirect.com/combinatio ... strip.aspx

Lastly, have any of you ever shopped at reptiledirect.com? If so, did you have a positive shopping experience with them? Thank you so much in advance for all your help and advice!

[Mama Crabs]

I have the ZooMed Slider Hood. I like it. Here are my thoughts on it.

I love that it covers my entire tank (29 gallon), it just sits right on top without any gaps. I just lift and scoot to move it. It's also nice to have a solid piece with everything contain. Good if you have kids and you worry about things getting tipped over.

I love that it has a screen to cover the lights, my crabs love walking upside down on the screen.

I love the all black color.

I love that it has outlets to hold a ceramic heater, I don't have to worry about heat damage on a fixture.

I love that it has build in vents on the hood that allow for circulation.

I love that it holds 3 lights (the one I bought). I have a long light T8 Fluorescent bulb to have on during the day. Provides UVB light.

I use a ceramic heater coil in another light socket to heat the tank with out light --that way a light isn't scaring the crabs as it turns on and off throughout the day to heat the tank. (I have this hood hooked up to a hygrometer to turn my heat and humidity on and off to maintain a good environment automatically.)

I use a moon glo bulb in the other socket for night time viewing.

I like the 3 switches the hood has for controlling each of the lights separately.

What I don't like about the hood is that it has 3 lights and only 2 cords, so 2 of the lights run through the same power cord. It hasn't been a problem since, I manually control my lights, but if you wanted to have all 3 lights on different timers this could be a problem.

I had to flip my hood where the back faces the front because of where I wanted to place my heat coil. You see, I needed the heat coil to be with it's own cord so I can set it to the hygrometer. This meant I had to use the socket on the right. Since I didn't want to have my heat ove my moss pit, I had to flip the hood to the other direction. I don't mind, but it is a flaw of this hood. If you don't have to flip it, it appears as solid metal, so cords, switches or vents.

Here are a few pics:

[Mama Crabs]

I have heard people say good things about the zoomed combo light, but no experience myself.

The ceramic heat coil I have is 60 watt.

I believe the Fluorescent light is good since it gives them UVB light. I have been told that any benefits from sunlight are lost when the rays go through the glass tank. So the light provides this light to them unfiltered. (as long as you don't put the light on top of glass or plexiglass.)

My moon glo bulb is 50 watt.

[Guest]

You have a great crabitat! Love your son's blog and the hermies are beautiful! Thank you so much for giving some very useful information relative to the Zoo Med Slider Hood. By the way, what type (brand name) of hygrometer are you using?

In terms of the flourescent light, I'm just a little concern since I read something about this type of light emitting too much UV that could potentially be harmful to us humans. Do you know anything about this?

Thank you again in advance for all your help and advice.

[Mama Crabs]

Thanks for the compliment!

My hygrometer is by is by ZooMEd, it's called ZooMed Hygrotherm. It does temperature and humidity in one. It as been an essential tool in my crabitat, I no longer fuss over the temp and humidity and can relax knowing that they are taken care of well. It also has a night drop temperature setting, which lets the temp drop a little at night just like it does in nature. I can control all settings to choose the type of habitat that I want.

I never considered the lights being a problem for me. Since they are in my hood, the light stays within the tank, so my exposure to it is nothing to worry about.

I checked the box and the warnings don't mention it, only that it will be hot and contains mercury so you need to dispose of it safely.

It's by Zilla, T8 Fluorescent Bulb with 17 watt full-spectrum T8 bulb, 25 microwatts UVB

[Guest]

I purchased the Tropic Aire Humidifier and the Tetra Whisper Air Pump. Will I be able to hook up these two items to a hygrometer?

I'm sorry for all these questions, I just want to make sure I have everything properly set up.

Thank you again.

Thanks for the compliment!

My hygrometer is by is by ZooMEd, it's called ZooMed Hygrotherm. It does temperature and humidity in one. It as been an essential tool in my crabitat, I no longer fuss over the temp and humidity and can relax knowing that they are taken care of well. It also has a night drop temperature setting, which lets the temp drop a little at night just like it does in nature. I can control all settings to choose the type of habitat that I want.

I never considered the lights being a problem for me. Since they are in my hood, the light stays within the tank, so my exposure to it is nothing to worry about.

I checked the box and the warnings don't mention it, only that it will be hot and contains mercury so you need to dispose of it safely.

It's by Zilla, T8 Fluorescent Bulb with 17 watt full-spectrum T8 bulb, 25 microwatts UVB

[Mama Crabs]

Yes. The humidifier hooks up to the whisper air pump. Then the whisper air pump hooks up to the hygrotherm that is set to turn on when the humidity falls below the number you program in. Then the hygrotherm has a sensor that goes into the tank, mine is set in the middle of the tank, a few inches above the sand to monitor the humidity and temp.

The Hygrotherm has two outlets. One outlet is to plug in a heating device, light a heat lamp or pad. The other outlet is to plug in a humidity device, like a humidifer, fogger, airstones etc. So in your case the whisper air pump will plug into the humidity outlet on your hygrotherm.

The hygrotherm, also has a device that sits outside the tank that digitally displays the current temp and humidity. It will also blink if the tank goes into a danger zone, like the heat gets too high in the tank. So you can take additional steps to improve the conditions if the devices are already doing their thing. For example, a heat wave hits your area. Your hygrotherm keeps your heat off in the tank, but the tank gets into a danger zone since the house is too hot. The hygrotherm display will flash its lights so you are warned and can maybe turn your air conditioning on.

I have my humidity set to 78, so whenever it falls below 78, it turns my whisper air pump on, that then pushes air through my humidifier and into my tank through a tube that's placed into my tank that humidity comes out of. The tube is included with the Tropic Aire humidifier, so you should be good to go!

[Guest]

You are so knowledgeable! Thank you so much for providing me with detailed information. You have been a great help, and I now feel much more confident in properly planning the set up of my tank. I sincerely appreciate all your help and advice.

Yes. The humidifier hooks up to the whisper air pump. Then the whisper air pump hooks up to the hygrotherm that is set to turn on when the humidity falls below the number you program in. Then the hygrotherm has a sensor that goes into the tank, mine is set in the middle of the tank, a few inches above the sand to monitor the humidity and temp.

The Hygrotherm has two outlets. One outlet is to plug in a heating device, light a heat lamp or pad. The other outlet is to plug in a humidity device, like a humidifer, fogger, airstones etc. So in your case the whisper air pump will plug into the humidity outlet on your hygrotherm.

The hygrotherm, also has a device that sits outside the tank that digitally displays the current temp and humidity. It will also blink if the tank goes into a danger zone, like the heat gets too high in the tank. So you can take additional steps to improve the conditions if the devices are already doing their thing. For example, a heat wave hits your area. Your hygrotherm keeps your heat off in the tank, but the tank gets into a danger zone since the house is too hot. The hygrotherm display will flash its lights so you are warned and can maybe turn your air conditioning on.

I have my humidity set to 78, so whenever it falls below 78, it turns my whisper air pump on, that then pushes air through my humidifier and into my tank through a tube that's placed into my tank that humidity comes out of. The tube is included with the Tropic Aire humidifier, so you should be good to go!

[Mama Crabs]

Oh, I'm so glad that I can help someone. I'm still kinda new to this, but have done a ton of research and have asked even more questions, so it's fun to share what I've learned. Good luck with your tank!

[Guest]

You have a great crabitat! Love your son's blog and the hermies are beautiful!

I second that!

In terms of the fluorescent light, I'm just a little concern since I read something about this type of light emitting too much UV that could potentially be harmful to us humans. Do you know anything about this?

Full spectrum fluorescent lights are often used for patients that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and studies have shown them to be a positive influence on mood and learning. Most fluorescent bulbs do "flicker" and this can lead to some people getting a headache. But really, no one should be staring at any light source, LOL. The only radiation given off by fluorescent is the Electro Magnetic Field (like your computer screen).

Great thread, I've learned a lot of humidifiers and the controls. Sounds way better than constant misting to me!

[Guest]

Hi Mama Crabs,

I completely forgot to ask you the following questions the last time I logged in to this site. What brand name of ceramic heat coil are you using? Are you aware of any positive reviews relative to the Reptisun 2.0 fluorescent lamp? I upgraded to a 20 gallon tank. What would you recommend for wattage in terms of the ceramic heat coil and moon glo?

Once again, thank you!

I have heard people say good things about the zoomed combo light, but no experience myself.

The ceramic heat coil I have is 60 watt.

I believe the Fluorescent light is good since it gives them UVB light. I have been told that any benefits from sunlight are lost when the rays go through the glass tank. So the light provides this light to them unfiltered. (as long as you don't put the light on top of glass or plexiglass.)

My moon glo bulb is 50 watt.

[Guest]

This is very interesting! I had no idea flourescent lights are used in this way! Thank you so much for providing this information. In terms of the humidifier, I believe it is definitely a better option than misting. I received mine today. Seems to be doing a good job!

I second that!
Full spectrum fluorescent lights are often used for patients that suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and studies have shown them to be a positive influence on mood and learning. Most fluorescent bulbs do "flicker" and this can lead to some people getting a headache. But really, no one should be staring at any light source, LOL. The only radiation given off by fluorescent is the Electro Magnetic Field (like your computer screen).

Great thread, I've learned a lot of humidifiers and the controls. Sounds way better than constant misting to me!

[tlivs]

i have a 29 gallon tank and i use one large UTH (which hardly works) and a 75W night glow bulb
my tank is always between 75-82 depending on whether its warm in the house or whether its night or day

[Guest]

That's pretty good! Do you use the UTH under or on the side of the tank?
How do you maintain humidity?

i have a 29 gallon tank and i use one large UTH (which hardly works) and a 75W night glow bulb
my tank is always between 75-82 depending on whether its warm in the house or whether its night or day

[tlivs]

its on the side, not under

i have a moss pit in a corner caddy that keeps the humidity up as well as misting every few days