Slate Tiles and Under Tank Heater

[erodger]

Hi, I am using an exo terra heat wave small under tank heater designed for 10-20 gallon tank. I am using a 20 gallon tank for my future leopard gecko.

Right now my heat pad has been on for almost 24 hours and with the slate tile in it seems to only reach 30 degrees C while with reptile carpet it reaches well over 32 degrees C.

But I read that the geckos get caught in the carpet so I would rather use the slate tiles. Plus I think the slate tiles look a lot nicer, and probably more natural for a leopard gecko.

I have one 12 by 12 over the heat pad and its directly on the glass and I am using a digital thermometer to read the temperature. I have read that some people put a layer of sand between the tile and the glass/heat pad. Will this allow better heat transfer or is it because the tile is thicker than the carpet that the heat isnt transferred as well?

If the UTH is not enough I guess I will have to invest in a ceramic heating bulb. But if there is anything that can improve heat transfer to the slate tile that will be appreciated.

 

[gothra]

If the bottom of the slate tile is too rugged, it may create air pockets between the tile and the heat pad. So adding a thin layer of sand will help to distribute heat better. You can try putting some insulating material like cork board or foam board beneath the heat pad, it will force all the heat to go upwards and not lost to the furniture of where your tank is sitting. Don't forget to add rubber feet to allow for some air circulation for the heat pad.

 

[mudskipper]

It's also because of the size of your tile. Your heat pad is too small to heat up the whole 12" tile. You could get a bigger heat pad with more wattage and/or use four 6" tiles instead.

I ended up doing both when I had this problem. I use the 16-watt Zoo Med with a thermostat to keep the temperature on the tile at 95F. I do not have any sand at all in my tanks.

 

[mudskipper]

By the way, the 16-watt Zoo Med pad will fit under your 12" tile perfectly.

 

[erodger]

It's also because of the size of your tile. Your heat pad is too small to heat up the whole 12" tile. You could get a bigger heat pad with more wattage and/or use four 6" tiles instead.

I ended up doing both when I had this problem. I use the 16-watt Zoo Med with a thermostat to keep the temperature on the tile at 95F. I do not have any sand at all in my tanks.

But then there goes money down the drain when I remove the exo terra one as it will be damaged once removed.

The slate tile does have a vertical line patter on the bottom so there are lots of air pockets. If I were to use sand and fill up the air pockets, heat should transfer easier, correct?

 

[Crewdog00]

I hear sand is good under the tile. I have paper towel below the tile and the heat seems to be fine. 93 in the hide but my hide has a "hot" corner of 97 degrees. She can regulate inside the hide.

 

[erodger]

I hear sand is good under the tile. I have paper towel below the tile and the heat seems to be fine. 93 in the hide but my hide has a "hot" corner of 97 degrees. She can regulate inside the hide.

If what I have read is true though, air acts too much as an insulator and my slate tile bottom is ridged so it has about 50% of the tile contacting the glass and the other 50% creating air pockets.

I wonder if I can throw my reptile carpet underneath to simulate the conduction of sand as the carpet should mold into the ridges and fill up those gaps.

 

[Crewdog00]

Reptile carpet would work for sure.

 

[erodger]

If that does not work however, I suppose I will need to invest in a better under tank heater. I ordered a thermostat and it is on its way to control the heating mat. I had a zoo med repti therm 500R but that one was a little sad for the price so i returned it.

And Looking up the zoo med larger sized medium 16 watt, I see that it is 8 by 12, so that will end up covering half of my tank rather than the 1/3rd but that should be okay since I am using slate tiles right?

And I am guessing that because it is larger and a higher wattage it will produce more heat so it may get really hot easily and I may not even need a ceramic heater, even in the winter?

 

[erodger]

I grabbed the 16 watt zoo med pad from the pet store but it looks like it will be too long for my tank with either orientation. I will just have to throw on a bulb there and use a thermostat to play with the heat mat to maintain a consistent 32C

 

[arianne]

The thermostat should be enough. I had the same issue so I bought a thermostat and no supplemental heat was needed.

 

[erodger]

The thermostat should be enough. I had the same issue so I bought a thermostat and no supplemental heat was needed.

But a thermostat will not enhance the ability of a heat mat. My heat mat is plugged directly into power and can only manage 28C-30C depending on time of day and ambient temperature. This is on half an inch thick slate tiles. I want it to be a consistent 32C. A thermostat will not make it get hotter, it only has the ability to turn on if too cold and off if too hot.

I am just going to get an infrared bulb and use that and have the thermostat on the floor on the warm end measuring the combined efforts of both the heat bulb and heat mat and just turn off the heat mat when it needs to, since its not good for bulbs to be fired on and off constantly.

 

[arianne]

True. I didn't think about how many watts you had. My bad.

 

[erodger]

It's all good. Right now I am using an 8 watt 8 by 8 heat pad. That is a good size as it covers 1/3rd. But I have read that people had experiences of heat pads going up to 100F so I thought that would be neat that I just use that and a thermostat to control the temps and then I have nothing to worry about but getting 30C right now in the summer is causing some frustration. Need to get a heat bulb. Nothing else I can do.

Thanks for all the input.

 

[mudskipper]

You won't damage the heat pads. The stickiness of the Zoo Med heat pads are pretty long lasting. I have a couple that I use to cover on the sides directly over sideway hides that I unstick and stick pretty often to see the leos inside.

 

[lonestar]

Hey guys. I'm using exo terra heat wave (small) for my geckos.. For under tank heater.. So usually you guys put heater normally how long you leave the heater on?

 

[Frankie04]

Hi, I am using an exo terra heat wave small under tank heater designed for 10-20 gallon tank. I am using a 20 gallon tank for my future leopard gecko.

Right now my heat pad has been on for almost 24 hours and with the slate tile in it seems to only reach 30 degrees C while with reptile carpet it reaches well over 32 degrees C.

But I read that the geckos get caught in the carpet so I would rather use the slate tiles. Plus I think the slate tiles look a lot nicer, and probably more natural for a leopard gecko.

I have one 12 by 12 over the heat pad and its directly on the glass and I am using a digital thermometer to read the temperature. I have read that some people put a layer of sand between the tile and the glass/heat pad. Will this allow better heat transfer or is it because the tile is thicker than the carpet that the heat isnt transferred as well?

If the UTH is not enough I guess I will have to invest in a ceramic heating bulb. But if there is anything that can improve heat transfer to the slate tile that will be appreciated.

I use the reptile carpet under the hide and it works just fine.
Why don't you try that first before removing the heat pad.

 

[lonestar]

Cause I stay in singapore and I my living room is like normal room temp.. Not sure whether is it just fine for my geckos

 

[mudskipper]

Hey guys. I'm using exo terra heat wave (small) for my geckos.. For under tank heater.. So usually you guys put heater normally how long you leave the heater on?

The heat pad should be left on 24 hours a day and plugged into a reliable thermostat (I use Hydrofarms Thermostat) with the thermostat's probe taped (I use electrical tape) to the floor inside the warm hide. I set my temperature to 95F. The thermostat turns the heat pad on when the temperature drops below and turns it off when the temperature reaches 95F. Some people tape the thermostat's probe onto the heat pad outside the tank because they don't want their probe dirty. That's why Hydrofarms Thermostat is great. It's meant for dirt so it's water proof.

 

[mudskipper]

Cause I stay in singapore and I my living room is like normal room temp.. Not sure whether is it just fine for my geckos

Your living room is definitely not warm enough. The surface area inside the warm hide should be between 90F - 95F (32C - 35C). I doubt your house is ever that warm even in the midsummer. I grew up in Bangkok myself.