setting up my tank

[ordinaryoddity]

hey guys, im setting up my first tank for a leopard gecko... ive got everything down except for oooone thing, the UTH...

i bought the Exo Terra Heatwave Desert Vivarium Heater, its one that directly adheres to the underside of the tank, but it doesnt seem to be working correctly...

i started off with it hooked up to a rheostat and the temp of my tile substrate was only getting up to 84*F in its 'hot spot', other areas were even cooler. so i unhooked it from my rheostat and plugged it directly into an outlet... that seemed to work better, a section of my substrate got up to 91*F yesterday, but when i checked it today it was back down to around 84*F again...

to me, it sounds defective...

i was wondering which UTHs you guys use, i was looking at the T-Rex Cobra Heat Mat and it sounds better to me...

if anyone uses that one, or any other one that doesnt directly adhere to the tank, im assuming you can place it inside the tank under the substrate as apposed to under the tank directly on the glass?
if so, i would think that would work better; conduct more heat directly to the substrate rather than going thru the glass bottom of the tank then thru the substrate...


thanks for any input guys,
andrew

 

[leolover2]

I use the zoo med Uth. The 10 to 20gallon will work good on a 20 but the mini does fine on a 10 gallon. They get hot to!! You need a rheostat.

 

[GeckoGathering]

Heat Sources

Not sure how much help this will be since I also use Zoo Med UTH.......have carpet with sections that have tile on them. They work fine...tank sizes from 10 for babies to 55 gal for laying females. Heaters range from mini to 40 -- 50 gal size. All information on these indicate bottom or side glass mounting leaving air space when underneath mounting is used. My tile on top of the carpet warms and stays nice from them. The only experience with reostat has been on light bulbs for a home made incubator and overhead basking heat. I found that some low wattage bulbs do not function well and sometimes not at all with them. These heat sources are low wattage. (but I'm not an electrician)......This is from a internet article :Cobra Heat Mat
Cobra Heat Mats are made from reliable, accurate copper elements that provide even heat distribution. Designed to be used in or out of terrariums, these mats operate at a constant 100 degrees Fahrenheit........................

My opinion is, the less electronic components to accomplish the needed temperatures is less to worry about failing. Switches, thermostats, ect. are an added instrument to be affected by power outage too. Having lots of available time for my hobby allows me to make many checks on temps. though.
Take care. HJ

 

[Rejoice in the Lord]

I am currently using flexwat heat tape plugged into an alife 1000 thermostat. However, I started out with a 20 gal. Zoo Med uth plugged into the thermostat. At first, I was not able to get my tank to heat up hardly at all. The reason was that my tank was setting on an open framed metal stand, with lots of air circulation flowing underneath the tank, and in a drafty part of the house. I cut a board, and set it on the frame; then raised my tank up for just a tiny amount of air circulation between it and the board, and my temps went up quite easily after that.