20 gall tank with tile UTH

[danny662boy]

what size uth do you use in a 20 gall tank with ceramic tile that heats to or as close to the correct temp?? i couldnt find the differences listed between different brands of uth's such as which ones get super hot, and less hot , etc.

 

[Cornman21]

with any UTH you should be using either a thermostat or a rheostat(dimmer). Also most should say the size on it. For example zoo med heat pads say either 5 gal, 10-20 gal etc.

 

[ariana]

itll say on the package, and as cornman21 said, you'll need a rheostat

 

[acpart]

I'm generally in favor of thermostats or rheostats for UTH's, however after doing some experiments (in different seasons) I have had pretty good luck using a zoomed mini (1-5 gallons) with ceramic tile for a 10 gallon and a zoomed 10-20 gallon size in a 20 long with ceramic tile and maintaining a temp in the low 90's. I do think it's important to keep checking and to be prepared to get a themostat or rheostat if needed, but this has worked for me and it's how I sell my setups.

Aliza

 

[danny662boy]

yes i understand that, but all uth' werent created equal... as well as making the temps good when using tile substrate.. i got an ultratherm, bc there supposed to stay at a 95 degrees... but it wont penetrate the tile, and i dont want to go back to repti-carpet... i have a flukers 6x11 thats for a 10-20 gallon tank, and that thing gets up to 117 degrees on top of the tile , which is ridiculously hot

 

[TFerguson]

yes i understand that, but all uth' werent created equal... as well as making the temps good when using tile substrate.. i got an ultratherm, bc there supposed to stay at a 95 degrees... but it wont penetrate the tile, and i dont want to go back to repti-carpet... i have a flukers 6x11 thats for a 10-20 gallon tank, and that thing gets up to 117 degrees on top of the tile , which is ridiculously hot

Personally, for a 20 gal tank with tile, I'd buy something in the range of a 16 Watt UTH. I'd definitely use a rheostat (if you didn't want to spring for a thermostat), and probably crank it down to the 10 -12 watt range based on what your thermometer says. I'd always go for too much wattage, and use a rheostat or thermostat to crank it back, because if you've got too little wattage... there's nothing you can do.