Heating Question

[verogold]

Hi guys,

My gecko is housed in a 55 gallon tank and I have been using red bulbs for nighttime heating since my home is very cold. He does not seem very happy about the red bulb and so I was thinking of buying a ceramic heater. I have never used one in the past and I was wondering if anyone had an idea of what watt will work in a 55 gallon without overheating my gecko?

 

[verogold]

Has anyone ever used a ceramic emitter? I am just trying to get at least an idea of how much heat it puts out before I purchase it.

 

[Jusselin]

they have different wattages, different temps

I would say 50-60 watts for your 55 gal.....on the warm side only...should bring temps up to 90 on the warm side.

 

[leezard]

I have used them and they work well just make sure you have the proper receptical for them they get HOT. There are different wattage's of heaters so depending on what you are trying to do you need to get the right wattage.

 

[Jusselin]

if you find a lower wattage (i dont think they make it lower than 50) then go with that....other wise a few UTH's should do, i have learned here they need belly heat not air temps so much.

 

[M_surinamensis]

There are too many variables to answer that question.

How effective a heater will be depends on its output, its shape and placement, the ambient temperature, the ambient air pressure, the air flow, the heat absorption and retention properties of the substrate and terrarium fixtures, the reliability of the power output in the house and the use of any safety or control devices... change any one of them and a given wattage CHE can produce very different resulting temperatures.

It's much easier to go bigger and use two well constructed thermostats than it is to try pushing a smaller, less powerful heat source to temperatures it doesn't easily attain.

 

[verogold]

Understood. Thank you everyone for the input

 

[Jusselin]

It's much easier to go bigger and use two well constructed thermostats than it is to try pushing a smaller, less powerful heat source to temperatures it doesn't easily attain.

example please...also when the OP mentions a ceramic heater, i assumed they meant bulbs

 

[verogold]

I was refering to this one or similiar.

http://exo-terra.com/en/products/heat_wave_lamp.php
http://exo-terra.com/en/products/wire_light.php

I guess with a bit of trial and error I will figure it out

I am assuming bigger so that it will cover more area. It's really tricky with some heat sources.

 

[M_surinamensis]

example please...also when the OP mentions a ceramic heater, i assumed they meant bulbs

It applies to most heat sources. UTHs, tape, rope, CHEs, lightbulbs, aquarium heaters. Slightly less applicable to forced hot air systems, but those are really only used by some retail places and have a host of their own unique issues and problems.

Basically, there are a lot of factors involved in how heat... works. From a physics perspective, there's a great deal of math that can be done to predict things with a fair degree of accuracy, but it's an impractical approach for people setting up pet enclosures. When we choose heating elements, we're taking a best guess as to the one that has the best chances of giving us the result we want.

We cannot say things like "A 50 watt emitter will give you a temperature of ninety degrees" though, because a 50 watt emitter can result in very different temperatures under different conditions. If the person keeps their house warmer or colder, if there's a draft or ventilation that allows for warm air-exchange, it can change how much of the heat produced ends up warming the enclosure and how much is lost; lots and lots of variables, too many to realistically predict without a lot of measurements and a lot of math.

Thermostats control a heating element by reducing the amount of electricity that powers it when a thermometer reaches a pre-set point. The accuracy of different thermostats can be different, but even the cheapest pet-store models are usually accurate to within about three degrees. If you get a more powerful heater, the thermostat restricts it and maintains the temperature you want. I suggest using two thermostats, because that gives you a failsafe; it's rare but malfunctions are possible. Doubling up the safety devices reduces the minimal danger even further.

There's obviously a limit to that approach. Going big and then limiting the output doesn't work when using, for example, an undertank heater designed for a 55 gallon tank when the enclosure is only ten gallons... but it's a solid approach when a person isn't sure if they should use a 50 or a 75 watt ceramic heat emitter. Has the added advantage of having the strength to continue operating if those ambient conditions change; like in the spring and fall when a lot of people open the windows and the temperature in the house isn't as stable, a powerful heating element just gets a bit more juice and keeps the enclosure relatively stable.

When a heating element is too small, weak or not ideally designed, there are things that can be done to increase efficiency... manipulating conductive and insulating substances and surfaces, moving the heating element closer to the target area or trying to push more electricity through it than it was designed to handle. These steps can potentially also work, however they're more effort intensive than using a couple thermometer probes.

 

[verogold]

Never an easy task that's for sure. I will definately connect it to a thermostat. Thanks again great information.

 

[Jusselin]

dont get apowerful watt bulb...the heat on the one side will get intense and you really dont need that much heat on the other side.

 

[Jusselin]

It applies to most heat sources. UTHs, tape, rope, CHEs, lightbulbs, aquarium heaters. Slightly less applicable to forced hot air systems, but those are really only used by some retail places and have a host of their own unique issues and problems.

Basically, there are a lot of factors involved in how heat... works. From a physics perspective, there's a great deal of math that can be done to predict things with a fair degree of accuracy, but it's an impractical approach for people setting up pet enclosures. When we choose heating elements, we're taking a best guess as to the one that has the best chances of giving us the result we want.

We cannot say things like "A 50 watt emitter will give you a temperature of ninety degrees" though, because a 50 watt emitter can result in very different temperatures under different conditions. If the person keeps their house warmer or colder, if there's a draft or ventilation that allows for warm air-exchange, it can change how much of the heat produced ends up warming the enclosure and how much is lost; lots and lots of variables, too many to realistically predict without a lot of measurements and a lot of math.

Thermostats control a heating element by reducing the amount of electricity that powers it when a thermometer reaches a pre-set point. The accuracy of different thermostats can be different, but even the cheapest pet-store models are usually accurate to within about three degrees. If you get a more powerful heater, the thermostat restricts it and maintains the temperature you want. I suggest using two thermostats, because that gives you a failsafe; it's rare but malfunctions are possible. Doubling up the safety devices reduces the minimal danger even further.

There's obviously a limit to that approach. Going big and then limiting the output doesn't work when using, for example, an undertank heater designed for a 55 gallon tank when the enclosure is only ten gallons... but it's a solid approach when a person isn't sure if they should use a 50 or a 75 watt ceramic heat emitter. Has the added advantage of having the strength to continue operating if those ambient conditions change; like in the spring and fall when a lot of people open the windows and the temperature in the house isn't as stable, a powerful heating element just gets a bit more juice and keeps the enclosure relatively stable.

When a heating element is too small, weak or not ideally designed, there are things that can be done to increase efficiency... manipulating conductive and insulating substances and surfaces, moving the heating element closer to the target area or trying to push more electricity through it than it was designed to handle. These steps can potentially also work, however they're more effort intensive than using a couple thermometer probes.

you are a freaking wealth of info lol...what thermostat would you reccomend?

 

[verogold]

Thanks, just what I was thinking. They seem a lot more powerful than bulbs.

 

[M_surinamensis]

you are a freaking wealth of info lol...what thermostat would you reccomend?

They control the heating element. There are some different designs, but at their most basic they all function on similar principles.

The thermostat gets plugged into the wall. The heating element gets plugged into the thermostat.

The thermostat has a thermometer, most commonly an electric probe that is run on a thin wire into the enclosure. You can put them pretty much anywhere you like. Some will use IR, older ones will still use a mercury thermometer, home-made jobs are sometimes put together using the thermostats sold in home improvement stores (these are bulkier and less precise, but they were all that existed for a long time).

The thermostat also has some kind of input, a dial or a couple buttons and an LED screen, buttons or knobs or sliders... some method of setting the temperature you want.

When the temperature is lower than where it is set, the heating element turns on. When the temperature reaches or exceeds what has been set, it turns off. Some of the high-end models will go further and run the heating element on partial power when it is close to the set temperature, so the changes are more gradual. That kind of stability isn't really necessary for most reptiles though, since the total swing is within a few degree range.

It should be noted that cheap thermostats can be a little rough on some lightbulbs, where the filament is experiencing frequent changes to the rate of electrons passing through it as it turns on and off. Still works, they just tend to burn out a little more often, reduces total bulb life by a bit. Not a problem with UTHs, tape, rope or CHEs though.


Edit: I misread that completely. Brand recommendations? I've generally found that you get what you pay for. Some of the really high-end systems are amazingly well designed and functional, but many of the animals people keep as pets don't quite need that kind of precision. The ones sold in many pet shops are perfectly serviceable, though I'd be a bit suspicious of anything under about fifteen dollars. I've had good experiences with Helix when I needed things exact, I'm currently using a couple of the Zoo-Med ones and haven't had any complaints. I've got a few I made myself using Apogee instruments thermometers and "A Boy's Book of 101 Fun Things to do with Electricity"

 

[Jusselin]

Plus rep!