# Arcadia T5's



## Dawson (Jun 8, 2008)

I have just ordered an arcadia controller for my new beardie viv as I hear they are 4 x better than standard controllers/tubes.

When I was looking into which controller to get I read that this new t5 should be mounted all the way to the hot side of the viv so that the beardie can escape the uvb if needed. Is this always the case?

I plan on building a fake rock wall and the cool end will have some shaded areas like this:









Image from The Roach Hut and his impressive 8ft Viv Build
 
So will I still need to mount the fitting off to one side of the viv?


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi,

What's the size of your viv?

John


----------



## Dawson (Jun 8, 2008)

Hi john, looks like your the perfect man to help me out here  its a vivexotic vx 48 4 foot viv and i bought the ACE1U5 24-39W controller with the 39W 34in tube.http://www.surreypetsupplies.co.uk/arcadia-electronic-t5-controller-24-39w-ace1u5.html


----------



## Dawson (Jun 8, 2008)

I also bought the T5 reflectors for that size tube


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi, yes that's fine for that viv. We suggest fitting the lamp into the hot end so that it allows the animal to self regulate between light and heat and cool and shade,

Fit on the front surface so that the lamp is above the animal and also out of your view, they are terrifically bright!!

They will get brighter and brighter over the first 5 days as they burn in.

Id love to see a pic when it's all fitted!

John


----------



## Dawson (Jun 8, 2008)

Thanks for the help much appreciated and exactly what I wanted to hear 

My plan is to fit it to the front face anyway but thanks for the suggestion.

Im still waiting for the controller viv and all accesories to arrive as I only ordered them last night but when they arrive I plan to do a full fake rock wall build and I will be posting in the habitat section for all to see.

Again thanks for the advice.


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Always a pleasure

John


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I think I'm going to buy one of their twin ballasts this weekend for a new setup to house baby day geckos, normally I'd buy a ballast and all the bits from an electrical wholesaler and put it together myself, but looking at prices I see I can get the Arcadia one with all the wires and caps already attached for only a couple of quid more. If they're as good as the Philips ballasts that I normally use there's no contest!


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

I have just bought the Arcadia 34" T5 set up inc reflector for my 4ft viv they sound fantastic. But .. I've just been told my 18" high viv could be too low to fit this light. Is it. ? Whe u say u fix to the front face of the viv is that facing directly the floor or on an angle towards the back bottom corner. ?


----------



## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

I have just upgraded to the arcadia T5s too, I have one for the water dragons but wont be setting it up ontil I have set up there new enclosure after I move!

But I am impressed, I have observed more activity going on in one particular enclosure since introducing it.

Well worth the investment too.

The only problem I have with them is all the little fiddly bits (I have arthritus in my fingers):devil: 

We should have little men come in the boxes we order to climb up and do all that for us.:Na_Na_Na_Na:

I got there in the end though.


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> I've just been told my 18" high viv could be too low to fit this light. Is it. ?


I assume what you mean is that the tube may be too close to the animals, and therefore the UVB too strong?

If that's the case then I guess you have a few choices, use a lower % tube, don't use the reflector, fit a diffuser of some sort (mesh for instance)...


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi,

This is tittle rubbish!!! The only safety advice is to not allow your animal any closer than 6" to the lamp and reflector for prolonged periods. But it says this on the box.

Honestly they are a total revolution as stated by Frances baines of Uv guide. And although are the strongest lamps in the world they still are no where near the power of the sun.

We suggest fitting the lamp in the front corner as it ensures that the lamp is always above the animal and that don't don't have to sit and stare at the lamp, which is very, very bright.

Please don't worry, they are totally safe. ALL Arcadia lamps are assessed by UVguide before being offered for sale.

Thanks

John 





Yorkshiredragon said:


> I have just bought the Arcadia 34" T5 set up inc reflector for my 4ft viv they sound fantastic. But .. I've just been told my 18" high viv could be too low to fit this light. Is it. ? Whe u say u fix to the front face of the viv is that facing directly the floor or on an angle towards the back bottom corner. ?


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

thanks john mine arrives tomorrow can't wait to get it in there thanks for setting that straight


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

Arcadia t5 Arrived and fitted impressed how thin the bulb is and the light coming of it compared to the repti glo is immense 
Great service and price from surrey pet supplies


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

developed a bit of a strange issue since I've fitted the arcadia t5 light 
my basking light (controlled by a dimming thermostat) has become a bit irregular its dimming up and down all the time when i with off the t5 it steadys switch it back on it goes irregular again 
the heat sensor probe is at the furthest corner from the light so its not a heat issue could this be because the wires and units are close to each other ?
or is my thermostat just on its way out 
bit strange how it steadys when the t5 is switched of though


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I may be way off here, but while testing my new Arcadia T5 setup at work I've noticed it causes interference if it's close to the radio, I wonder if it might do this with other electronic equipment such as a stat?

I'm no electronics expert and this is just an observation, it would be interesting to know though.


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

I'm thinking the same thing mate when i switch it on the dimming thermostat is up n down switch off the t5 it stops


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

You've obviously seen this thread too http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/foru...compatablity-issue-between-thermostat-t5.html, so it seems there is potential for interference between the two. 

I'll try the suggestions today, although uncoiling the leads is a bit of a pain as they're so long, I'm using mine in a small 24" viv with the ballast screwed to the back, so nowhere to lose all that length other than have it all hanging down the back! This was one advantage with buying my own ballasts and wiring them myself, I could keep the wiring length to just what was required so it was nice and neat, I could shorten the long Arcadia leads but that would almost certainly void the warranty.

One thing I will try out of interest, and that is to see if my Philips electronic ballasts create the same radio interference.


----------



## Arcadiajohn (Jan 30, 2011)

Hi guys, please keep me informed on this one!

With HO T5 the lampleads must me unrolled or the lamp will flicker anyway. They have certain limitations and plus points over T8 magnetic ballasts one limitation is that the cables have to be fully unwound.one plus is they are hugely more powerful

Try plugging the two units into different power points and seating them away from each other as far as possible.

We cannot re-create the issue so it's really hard to pinpoint exactly what it is.

The good news is that apart from one person we have been able to fix the issue in all the other 4 cases.

Good luck

John


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I'm not using a stat controlled heat source in conjunction with my T5s at the moment so I won't be able to test that, in my setup I'm just using a 24W 6% UVB and a 24W daylight tube, the two of them produce more than enough daytime heat on their own for my purposes. 

I'm just running a test to see if I need a heatmat at night, if I do that will of course be stat controlled, but it'll be on when the lamps are off so interference between the two won't be an issue, also the stat if I use one will be a simple mat stat which I imagine would be less of a problem anyway?


----------



## Yorkshiredragon (Mar 19, 2012)

I changed thermostat today and issue is resolved seems to me it's the minista B1 that have the problem around the t5s Im using a Habistat now and it's fine


----------



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I put the radio near one of my Philips ballasts this afternoon and there was no noticeable interference like I got with the Arcadia one, odd as I'd have assumed they were pretty much identical, how different can two electronic ballasts be?

I would speak to Microclimate and tell them about your problem, they may be able to offer a solution, it's something they should probably know about anyway as you're unlikely to be the last person to experience this.


----------

