context: I have a lamp holder/fitting + heat guard installed on the inner ceiling of the tank that i want to install a DHP into (replacing my CHE)
the tank is roughly 15" tall, 36" long
the heat guard itself is roughly 8-8.5" long, the holder is about 3-4", the rest of the space taken up by the bulb minus a couple inches space between the bulb and the end of the heat guard
#80 or 50w DHP? which is best?
rigid pasture
daring stag
Iirc the bulb size jump from 50w to 80w is comparable to par30 to par38. You can search those up and see the size difference if you are concerned about spacing. 
As for the best, it would depend on the build of your tank and the ambient settings of the room the enclosure is in. 80W will do well keeping temps up if your room is on the colder side as a basking spot, and 50w if you're just using dhp as an ambient temp maintenance during the night.
More context will definitely help others in recommending what's best to fit your needs.👌
rigid pasture
thanks for the response!! generally the tank i have is rlly good at retaining heat, on the cool side it drops no lower than 24C at night, and it's 25-27C in the day (which I've actually been a lil concerned about if that's too high)
rigid pasture
More context will definitely help others in recommending what's best to fit your...
let me know if there's anything else i should add
the current basking spot easily reaches 34-36C, i actually have to be quite cautious with my dimming thermostat settings because of how easily the temp can rise
my room is usually on the cool side so it's interesting how well the tank retains heat, but likely due to it being wooden (no mesh top)
rigid pasture
thanks for the response!! generally the tank i have is rlly good at retaining he...
havent had my leo for long but so far (summer period) it's never dropped below 23 (i've turned the dimming thermostat down low at night)
daring stag
27 C is fine if that's the upper limit of your cool side, I have the same problem during this summer
rigid pasture
yeahhh i try not to let it go above that
daring stag
Will the dhp be for your basking spot?
rigid pasture
yes ideally
daring stag
You're using what atm tho?
rigid pasture
i'm not 100% clued in on how dhp works but i was hoping it would create a greater gradient in the tank so it doesn't get so warm on the cool side
cermaic heat emitter bulb
daring stag
Oh, yeah, dhp is defenitely an upgrade from che, a halogen/incandescent type will aslo do though if that's something you've been considering.
rigid pasture
i read halogens give off light? and i'd like to be able to have the heat on low at night for colder months
daring stag
Fair enough, you only have to worry about night temps if the room gets colder than 18C though if that eases your mind a little.
rigid pasture
that's fair! again, i'm not sure how cold it gets in my room when its colder outside, so i'm a lil cautious
daring stag
I've also read in a dedicated herp lighting group that dimming heat sources too much will also affects their efficiency, therefore it's also not too good to oversize your heat lamps too much. What's the current wattage of your CHE?
rigid pasture
100w
daring stag
rigid pasture
for context I was recommended this by a friend who owns leos
daring stag
Well you're switching it out so it's a good step forward, CHEs according to the server guide(backed by scientific data) emit a different kind of heat "IR-C"(the left over kind), the best and more effective kind of heat for leos comes from IR-A and IR-B which is what halogens and DHPs mainly emit. Since they penentrate deeper into the tissue, overall warming them up more effectively and letting them be more active for longer periods of time away from a heat source.
I think for your case, knowing it's a wooden enclosure with lowish height clearance, the 50W might suffice as a first option to be conservative. This is my recommendation without knowing how easy it is to have it replaced for a higher wattage one though.
If that is not sufficient and you need to up it, then you can just replace it with the 80 W, if possible. What brand will your DHP be if you don't mind me asking?
rigid pasture
ooh thanks very much for the info! i did have a read about the different lamp efficiencies on the care sheet for this server, which got me wanting to replace my lamp
i was thinking arcadia?
i think it should be straightforward to replace if 50W isn't enough, either should fit in my lamp guard
daring stag
You could send a pic to get second opinions from others on the sizing of the cage and whatnot. Is it a cylinder or boxy type?
rigid pasture
cylinder!
i can go into my prev orders and find the dimensions of the guard if need be
daring stag
Cuz a par38 bulb is 4 3/4" diameter, the cage just needs to be able to fit that inside
and iirc it should be about 5" ish long hanging down
rigid pasture
so it's an arcadia large lamp cage
website says dimensions: 220mm / Width 120mm
lemme figure that out in inches
8" x 4.7"
daring stag
I mean... Surely Arcadia designed their stuff to accommodate their own product right??
rigid pasture
worst case scenario i return it and still have the ceramic bulb (sucks but does the job) until i replace either the guard or bulb
aw perf
i hope my little guy enjoys it (he's very eepy all the time so i hope this will help)
daring stag
The 80 if it's really bigger would be a snug fit worst case scenario
rigid pasture
yeah i getcha
i reckon 50 will be perfect given how easily the tank heats up
thanks again btw!!
daring stag
Np, it's all NQA tho.👌
And you gotta consider wattage wise your CHE is twice the size of your soon to be DHP
But a DHP is indeed more efficient for heating up a spot compared to a CHE that just puffs up heat on the air. Your wish to have a better gradient will most likely come true.
rigid pasture
it’s all good, I feel there’s a lot of research behind DHP now anyway
Unfortunately I can’t find the dimensions?? but I reckon 50 watts will be fine
will see how things go 🤞
rigid pasture
how’s this looking? (Before I close up the guard)
daring stag
How high is the basking surface from the closest point of the bulb?
The fit looks good tho, and it's an absolute blessing to have that cage with how low it droops down.,