Heating advice

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Figtoria

New Member
Messages
23
Location
Canada
I'm really struggling with temperature in my tank.

I have a Zoo-med small in my 20 long aquarium and according to the temperature probe I have on the bottom of the tank, over the pad, it's about 87F in there with no light.

The smallest infrared light I've found is 40w and that is raising the temperature to 96-97F.

I'm not sure if I should buy the medium Zoo-med UTH pad, or try to find a different way to add just a >bit< more heat on top of the small sized pad??

Any advice? BTW - I live in Ontario, Canada and it's cold as heck here right now.

Thanks!
 
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tb144050

New Member
Messages
1,050
Location
Texarkana
You can try to insulate around the bottom edges of the tank so all heat from the pad is trapped under the tank, and more importantly...no draft gets under the tank. Also, covering 50% of the top screen will keep the ambient air temp warmer in the tank. This will make it easier for the floor temp to stay warmer.

Some people even recommend using "material" of some sort to directly cover the pad on the bottom....same effect as blocking the drafts from the bottom edges of the tank, but it should theoretically trap the heat on only the hot side and raise the hotside floor temp. (I've never had to do this one).

Remember that using a heatlamp to raise the floor temp to 90-92 might be effective, but after your leo lays on that spot for a few minutes, your leo is blocking the overhead heat...so the temp UNDER your leo will drop back down to the 80's.
 
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tb144050

New Member
Messages
1,050
Location
Texarkana
Foil is the "material" i have heard to use to wrap the bottom of the heatpad. Ive never use it so i didnt want to specify. :) Theoretically, it should absolutely trap and focus the heatpad's heat to the hotside and block drafts at the same time.
 
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Some87

New Member
Messages
54
Location
Las Cruces, NM
That seems kind of strange that you are having problems with your heat pad. I would think that the temps would be to high with just the paper towel. Maybe send zoo meds a email and ask them what they would suggest to do. I know when I put my heat pad on for the first time w/o anything on top of he glass my temps were hitting 115°F. Maybe try ordering up some flexwatt and see if that works better.
 
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Figtoria

New Member
Messages
23
Location
Canada
I tried that and it's working great! Thanks again!

I'm quite pleased actually, I got them Sunday and they're eating well. One ate 3 crickets in a row! I was surprised that many could fit in that little tummy!!
 
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Figtoria

New Member
Messages
23
Location
Canada
Wow. 115F?? I wonder if it's because it's winter here. The room temperature for us is 66F.

Or maybe because it's an older mat. I got it about 12 years ago for a snake we had, but it hasn't been used in 10 years.

I'll buy a new one if I need too, but foil on the bottom seems to have really sorted it out for now.

Thanks!
 
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Some87

New Member
Messages
54
Location
Las Cruces, NM
That's great news. It seems like a good idea to replace that one with a new one. As for my UTH what I did to bring down the heat was put rubber pads on the bottom of the tile I have in my tank and also put some paper towels under the dry hide on the hot side and that seem to do the trick because my hide is at 92° and the tile itself is about 96°. I just picked up a new 20L tank and heat pad and also picked up a thermostat because this time I plan to glue down the tile and not space it out.
 
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tb144050

New Member
Messages
1,050
Location
Texarkana
My wife's tank had to be elevated 1" because it sits on a bookshelf, enclosed on 3 sides. Her temp was reaching 97, but the extra draft underneath keeps the floor from overheating.

Some87, are you sure you wanna glue it down? I like to take everything out and clean it once in a while. I like to wash the entire glass by hand and wash most of the decor in the dishwasher.
 
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