So when using a UTH, do you turn it down

[Latlaw]

at night? This is such a great forum! Learning tons here.

 

[acpart]

You should be able to keep the UTH on at the same temp all the time; they don't really need a ground night time drop. Of course, you need to be able to control the UTH and for that you need one of the following:

--a substrate that is thick enough to keep the temperature reasonable
--a rheostat which you may have to adjust when the ambient temperature changes
--a thermostat that will control the temp like the one in your house does.

Aliza

 

[rince]

depends on what you want. If you want to have a night drop because you think it is as close to nature as you can get, do it. Is it necessary? No certainly not. I personally use a thermostat with a build in night drop and drop the temperature by 8F .
If you don't have any way to control your UTH properly based on the temperature, I would not recommend it, as you may risk a drop to low.

 

[rince]

Hi Aliza,

may I challenge one of your options ?

--a substrate that is thick enough to keep the temperature reasonable

to my mind the thickness of the substrate should not be used to adjust the temperature. If your leos are any like mine. Apart from being the most unreliable I think that this option is plainly a waste of energy. I would vote for any of the other two options :main_yes:

 

[Sandyballs]

I just put a small towel under the substrate...
it keeps temps down

 

[acpart]

Hi Aliza,

may I challenge one of your options ?



to my mind the thickness of the substrate should not be used to adjust the temperature. If your leos are any like mine. Apart from being the most unreliable I think that this option is plainly a waste of energy. I would vote for any of the other two options :main_yes:

I don't mind my options being challenged. Here's the reason I suggested it: when I sell my complete set-ups, I sell the 10 gallon with ceramic tile and a mini 1-5 gallon heater (and a 20 long with ceramic tile and a 10-20 gallon heater) because after experimentation I found that in general the temps stay in the low 90's. I agree that it would be more energy efficient to have the UTH shutting off when it gets erally hot outside, but I also want my setups to be affordable. I also prefer the other 2 options, though.

Aliza

 

[yeti]

I would recommend a good thermostat with a remote temperature probe. Tape the probe down to the glass right above the UTH and set it to 88 degrees or so. Also, check it occasionally with a digital thermometer. This setup works very well for me.

 

[Latlaw]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful and great ideas. Now I have to decide between a thermostat and rheostat. I now have two 20 gal long set ups for my male and female so I suppose I would need one for each tank.

 

[rince]

Thanks everyone! Very helpful and great ideas. Now I have to decide between a thermostat and rheostat. I now have two 20 gal long set ups for my male and female so I suppose I would need one for each tank.

It is certainly true for a rheostat, but depending on what you are willing to spend there are great thermostats with more than one outlet and individual temperature probes. As I am a total fan of spyderrobotics' herpstats, here is one that would service both of your enclosures.

Kindest regards
Dennis