Heating an acrylic tank?

[DragonRain]

Heya!

So I'm in the process of upgrading my aquariums (I have aquatic frogs and fish ) to larger, acrylic aquariums. I'm really loving the idea of switching to acrylic. It's suppose to be stronger than glass, and is lighter which is awesome for me since I'm not that strong but I always have to move my tanks on my own. Plus after having one of our glass aquariums crack, leak, and damage the apartment below us, I've been kind of nervous dealing with the glass aquariums.

Anyways, so I'd really like to get acrylic tanks for my geckos as well. But I'm wondering how I would heat them? I'm using UTH's for my tanks now, and would rather use either UTH's or heat tape/rope than lights. Would it be safe to use a UTH with an acrylic aquarium, or is there a risk of it melting the plastic?

I just thought of this...but breeds and stuff who use those plastic sweater boxes for housing still use UTH's sometimes don't they? So does that mean using one should be okay for an acrylic tank?

Thanks in advance for any replies! I just wanted to double check before actually buying new tanks...because the larger acrylic tanks are a bit pricey, and I don't want to spend the money on them if I'm not going to be able to heat them properly.

 

[Khrysty]

Heya!

So I'm in the process of upgrading my aquariums (I have aquatic frogs and fish ) to larger, acrylic aquariums. I'm really loving the idea of switching to acrylic. It's suppose to be stronger than glass, and is lighter which is awesome for me since I'm not that strong but I always have to move my tanks on my own. Plus after having one of our glass aquariums crack, leak, and damage the apartment below us, I've been kind of nervous dealing with the glass aquariums.

Anyways, so I'd really like to get acrylic tanks for my geckos as well. But I'm wondering how I would heat them? I'm using UTH's for my tanks now, and would rather use either UTH's or heat tape/rope than lights. Would it be safe to use a UTH with an acrylic aquarium, or is there a risk of it melting the plastic?

I just thought of this...but breeds and stuff who use those plastic sweater boxes for housing still use UTH's sometimes don't they? So does that mean using one should be okay for an acrylic tank?

Thanks in advance for any replies! I just wanted to double check before actually buying new tanks...because the larger acrylic tanks are a bit pricey, and I don't want to spend the money on them if I'm not going to be able to heat them properly.

Those who use a rack system don't usually heat their tubs with lights, so yeah, they use heat tape, pads, or cable. 1-5 gallon heat pads from ZooMed are said to be safe with plastic, but I've used 10-20 gallon ones on plastic with no problems, either. Right now I have two plastic tubs sitting on unregulated heat cable with no issues, either, so it really just depends on what you want to use to heat. Remember that your body temperature is 98 degrees. You shouldn't be running the tanks any hotter than that. And as long as plastic doesn't melt while you're holding it, it isn't going to melt from your heat source.

 

[roger]

Heya!

So I'm in the process of upgrading my aquariums (I have aquatic frogs and fish ) to larger, acrylic aquariums. I'm really loving the idea of switching to acrylic. It's suppose to be stronger than glass, and is lighter which is awesome for me since I'm not that strong but I always have to move my tanks on my own. Plus after having one of our glass aquariums crack, leak, and damage the apartment below us, I've been kind of nervous dealing with the glass aquariums.

Anyways, so I'd really like to get acrylic tanks for my geckos as well. But I'm wondering how I would heat them? I'm using UTH's for my tanks now, and would rather use either UTH's or heat tape/rope than lights. Would it be safe to use a UTH with an acrylic aquarium, or is there a risk of it melting the plastic?

I just thought of this...but breeds and stuff who use those plastic sweater boxes for housing still use UTH's sometimes don't they? So does that mean using one should be okay for an acrylic tank?

Thanks in advance for any replies! I just wanted to double check before actually buying new tanks...because the larger acrylic tanks are a bit pricey, and I don't want to spend the money on them if I'm not going to be able to heat them properly.

acrylic is fine for heat tape.even if u have your thermostat set for 110 deg it still wont melt the acrylic

 

[DragonRain]

That's awesome, thanks for replying! I was pretty sure it'd be fine, but wanted to make sure.

So should any brand of UTH be fine? It'll be regulated with a thermostat.

 

[Dog Shrink]

IMO Utratherm cobra brand is the best, higher wattage for a smaller mat (6x11 12 watt) versus T-Rex cobra brand (6x11 7 watt but still does great for us) are the best for the money. "A consistant constant 100 degrees heat output thru all copper wiring". I have links if you want. I have zoomed on my son's ball's tank and it doesn't do well thru the slate floor. My leo has the T-Rex cobra and vinyl tiles substrait and we hit temps no problem (unless the house is like 60 degrees). Take into consideration what substrait you're using. Natural stone porcelain & ceramic will all need a higher wattage/size uth to make your hot side reach temps. Less conductive substrait like vinyl or carpet and paper towels will do find with a lower wattage but gives you no redecorating wiggle room with out retooling your heat elements.

So that's just my 2 cents :main_yes:

 

[DragonRain]

Hey thanks!

Utratherm cobra brand is the one sold on The Bean Farm right? They are cheaper than I was expecting!

And they should be fine for an acrylic tank? My sub-straight is ceramic tiles.

I don't have to put anything between the UTH and the tank right? I can just lay the tank on top of the UTH with no problems, even with an acrylic tanks?

Any recommendations for a thermostat to go with a Utratherm mat?

Thanks again!

 

[Dog Shrink]

Yes it does look like the ones on Beanfarm's site is the ultratherm brand cobra and not the T-Rex brand cobra.

 

[GeckoGurl]

This may seem like a stupid question but are acrylic tanks the same as plexi glass? A friend just gave me a custom tank he made for his python and I love it problem is the bottom is wood and I was thinking about cutting out a 8x10 (give or take) section on one side of the bottom and inserting a piece of plexi in the bottom... the walls are all plexi and this the only way I can think of to be able to use the UTH unless someone else has any ideas. Im sorry I am not trying to hijack the thread but I was about to post a new thread when I noticed this one. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

~ The only other thing I can think of is maybe inserting a piece of glass from a photo frame if that wont work? Cause if Im correct the heating pad would damage the wood right? Or maybe be fire hazard?