Tank Tile questions... Plz help!

I'm intrigued to know what type of tile do those of you that use it actually use... Small ones big ones,? Are they sealed together with grout or silicone? What do you use for heat? I'd imagine an UTH under tile would be difficult to get to the proper temperatures...

Pretty much I want to know everything about the tile you use in your tanks,
And PICS would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I use ceramic tile on some of my reptile tanks. I use the largest tile I can fit into the tank so I have the fewest gaps in the tile floor. I don't use grout or anything I just let them sit in the tank that way I can remove them if I want to clean out the tank which you should do every month to remove the stuff that will get under the tile.

My geckos that are in tanks (all 20g long) I use 13" tile I cut to fit the inside. My bearded dragon has 18" tiles because those fit in his 40g breeder tank almost perfect just one cut.

I use the UTH for everyone you do have to set the temperature a little higher to heat up the tile to about 90. I have noticed if you are buying the UTH from the pet store those work pretty good on the tile, I put the UTH under the tank on the glass, tile goes on top and most of the time you don't need to adjust the heat at all. Using heat tape you do need to crank up the heat more then you do when using tubs. But it does hold the heat better and I feel it makes a better warm spot as it's a little bigger area and gives them more options on places to sit.

So you prefer the pet store brand UTH? Like Zoo Med or exoterra? Or would flex watt or that other brand of UTH that I can't remember the name of lol

Also what type of thermostat do you use if any?

I have a 12*24 porcelain tile for my 15 gal cut super tight and I love it. So easy to clean. I use the desert wave exoterra heat mat and it actually got too hot, so have a hydrafarm thermostat. I check temps with an infrared temp gun and find that my max/min for the hot side is 93/89. Dash loves his setup - he uses every inch of it.

I used the zoo med UTH for a long time but if you have more then 2 or 3 it's cheaper to get the heat tape, I think I use Flexwatt heat tape but I don't recall. I changed over all my breeding geckos and hatchlines to the heat tape because it allows me to do more tanks for less, but I have a few still set up with the zoo med heaters and I don't plan on changing them because they are working.

As for a thermostat I don't use them with my set up. The reason I don't is I have all my heat tape and UTH set up on rheostats that way I can adjust the temperature to what I want and it will stay steady. The big difference is my way requires more work to make sure your correct but it's also cheaper.

Dash's house. I had it more open before, but found he didn't come out as much. Added the tree in the back, and now he's out all the time climbing around.

Thanks for the replies guys I really appreciate it,
As far as tile goes... Is ceramic the presumed best? How about a slate? Or something like that.

All my tanks have ceramic but that is because I liked the color. I bought a box and when I want to set up a new tank I just cut them to fit. Price is a little higher on slate but your only buying 1 or 2 pieces.


Also check your local stores our Home Depot won't cut tile but Lowes will. The first 3 or 4 cuts are free then it is 50 cents a cut. Depending on how much you trust your measuring you can take the sizes you need or take your tank to them so they can fit it.