Trying to increase heat from UTH

[ncbeast]

OK, I have read through a lot of threads and made some of my own trying to get my son's set up correct. So my son is saving to upgrade the tank so we are trying not to put too much into it right now so we are just trying some free steps right now....

This is a ZoMed 8 watt UTH...Temp probe is taped to the side of the hide with the tip touch the slate (see picture)

-Using red cfl at night and 25 watt standard soft white bulb during the day

-Taped aluminium foil over UTH

-Replaced brown paper substraight with 1/2" calcium sand base with slate tiles on top of that. My son got the sand from his teacher at school that had some left over and we bought the slate from Lowe's for about $4.

-1" X 2" wood slates under each end of tank to provide some air flow for the UTH

-Towel on the top just until the heat comes up

We did the sand and tile about 12 hours ago and the temp is only up to 83.7 so far and he is staying in the warm hide so far this morning. Last night it was only 80 and he was out walking around, climbing and drinking. This morning I added the wood slats and hoping the temp will climb some more. I have heard that it take 24-48 hours for the slate to get warm, I guess I should have warmed them up by placing them in the sun before putting them in there...learning.

Anyway, does anyone have any other suggestions other than a new UTH. We will be getting another, better UTH (Cobra) for the new tank so we do not want to go out and get another for this one.

Thanks in advance,
Greg & AJ

 

[monkeytechahoo]

I have slate tiles and do not have anything under them, just the bottom of the tank. Could try that.

 

[ncbeast]

Could I use a regular heating pad? If so I guess I would have to put the tank directly on it and remove my wood slats. I have heard of this but sounds a little dangerous.

Should I remove the aluminium foil that I have taped over the UTH? Would this be causing it not to perform as well...overheating?

I wanted to get this all straightened out before we leave on vacation Wednesday....

 

[roger]

OK, I have read through a lot of threads and made some of my own trying to get my son's set up correct. So my son is saving to upgrade the tank so we are trying not to put too much into it right now so we are just trying some free steps right now....

This is a ZoMed 8 watt UTH...Temp probe is taped to the side of the hide with the tip touch the slate (see picture)

-Using red cfl at night and 25 watt standard soft white bulb during the day

-Taped aluminium foil over UTH

-Replaced brown paper substraight with 1/2" calcium sand base with slate tiles on top of that. My son got the sand from his teacher at school that had some left over and we bought the slate from Lowe's for about $4.

-1" X 2" wood slates under each end of tank to provide some air flow for the UTH

-Towel on the top just until the heat comes up

We did the sand and tile about 12 hours ago and the temp is only up to 83.7 so far and he is staying in the warm hide so far this morning. Last night it was only 80 and he was out walking around, climbing and drinking. This morning I added the wood slats and hoping the temp will climb some more. I have heard that it take 24-48 hours for the slate to get warm, I guess I should have warmed them up by placing them in the sun before putting them in there...learning.

Anyway, does anyone have any other suggestions other than a new UTH. We will be getting another, better UTH (Cobra) for the new tank so we do not want to go out and get another for this one.

Thanks in advance,
Greg & AJ

what worked for me b4 i got my rack is to get an infrared bulb with the clamp holder and put it over the warm end.use a rheostat

 

[ncbeast]

Now it has been about 30 hours since installing the sand/tile and raising the tank and still only 83.7. He was really active tonight and ate the best he as eaten since we have had him (10 days). Feeding every other day large crickets, he ate 4 in about 15 minutes.

 

[roger]

Now it has been about 30 hours since installing the sand/tile and raising the tank and still only 83.7. He was really active tonight and ate the best he as eaten since we have had him (10 days). Feeding every other day large crickets, he ate 4 in about 15 minutes.

90-95 would be ideal

 

[ncbeast]

90-95 would be ideal

I understand, 95 is the temp I am trying to hit but it seems the UTH I have just will not do it???

 

[ncbeast]

Maybe I should just go and buy another Zoo Med 8 watt UTH and return the old one in the new package. I say this because the owners I bought everything from said she only had the UTH a few months but does not have the receipt. It has a one year warranty??

Will I have a hard time removing the old one from the bottom of the tank since it is adhired to it?

 

[RAlbrecht]

So you have a UTH, directly attached to the bottom side of the glass tank, then how many layers in-between? If there is any extra stuff that might be spreading the heat out. The ideal situation is to have a "hot spot" of 90-95, if you have layers I would remove them, have the UTH and tile. So theres more direct contact for those tiles to get warm. The UTH will not put out enough heat to cause any problems for your gecko, hopefully this helps. If it doesn't just PM me.

 

[ncbeast]

So have 1/4" of sand and slate tile on top of that and temp is 80-84. (before adding the sand and tile just had paper towels with the same temps) I was going to just go get another one at ******** today and then return the one I have tomorrow in the new package. Since it does have a 1 year warranty and the last owners said they bought it there 7 months ago but do not have the receipt. I am thinking it is either defective or they damaged it by not using the supplied rubber feet to raise the tank for air flow. But just reading on the ******** site and the description for the Zoo Med it says "Raises air temperature of terrariums 5 to 10 degrees higher than room temperature. Easy and economical to operate." it does say "air" and not floor but maybe it is working ok and my house is just too cold, I keep the house 68-70 during the day and when we go to bed I drop it down to 65??

Should I go up to the next size (16 watt 8" X 12")? Since this is a 10 gallon, not sure if the 12" is too long and the 8" maybe too wide and may cover more than half the tank or close to it? I am at work so no access to the tank now but they should have some there I could look at and see.

I still think a new 8 watt should work, even going through the glass on the bottom, sand and to the slate. Even have read on here that the ZooMeds run hot and lots of people add dimmers to turn them down....I wish that was my problem, that would be an easy fix.....

 

[Daedric1]

How thick is your tile? If it's pretty thick it could be harder to warm up.

Mostly it just sounds like you have a really crappy UTH, possibly defective/old. I use the same Zoomed 8Watt (10-20gal) UTH and it works fine. It's also possible that calicsand doesn't conduct heat as well as normal sand...

When I don't use sand under the tile, my hotspot runs near 98 degrees on the hotspot, but the rest of the warm side is in the mid-upper 80s. The sand in there keeps the hotspot around 93 degrees on a larger hotspot, with the rest of the warm side being in the upper 80s. It seems to heat the tile more evenly.

You could also try using just the tile until you get a better UTH. Don't get a bigger sized one; stay with your current size.

You'll probably also want to get your air temps up at night. 65 is below the minimum temp range and your leo may get sick and die from prolonged exposure. So, use a nighttime bulb to keep the air temp warmer on the hot side.

 

[ncbeast]

How thick is your tile? If it's pretty thick it could be harder to warm up.

Mostly it just sounds like you have a really crappy UTH, possibly defective/old. I use the same Zoomed 8Watt (10-20gal) UTH and it works fine. It's also possible that calicsand doesn't conduct heat as well as normal sand...

When I don't use sand under the tile, my hotspot runs near 98 degrees on the hotspot, but the rest of the warm side is in the mid-upper 80s. The sand in there keeps the hotspot around 93 degrees on a larger hotspot, with the rest of the warm side being in the upper 80s. It seems to heat the tile more evenly.

You could also try using just the tile until you get a better UTH. Don't get a bigger sized one; stay with your current size.

You'll probably also want to get your air temps up at night. 65 is below the minimum temp range and your leo may get sick and die from prolonged exposure. So, use a nighttime bulb to keep the air temp warmer on the hot side.

Thanks Eric, the tile is about 1/4" thick and the sand is about 1/4" thick so it should not have any problem making it through 1/2" of substrate. I went today at lunch and bought another UTH like I have now (Zoo Med 8 watt) and will peel the old one off when I get home from work and install the new one. Tomorrow I will return the old one for a refund. Hopfully this one is either defective or the previous owner messed it up by not providing air under it by raising the tank.

The 65 is the temp of my house, I turn down the heat when I go to bed. The old UTH dropped to 80 when doing this and would only make it up to about 84 during the day when the house temp is 68-70 and using a 25 watt bulb. So think the UTH maybe staying pretty consistent at about 80 and the bulb drives the temp up a little. I also have some 15 watt day bulbs standing by incase the new UTH works really well and it goes past 95 during the day.

The only thing that worries me is reading the package of the new Zoo Med is it says that it only raises the temp 5-10 degrees more than room temp? That would be worse than the old one is doing at night because it is doing a +15 now.

I will report back later tonight or tomorrow morning.

 

[ncbeast]

Well I think this UTH is going to do the same thing. I replaced the current UTH with the same thing thinking th eold one might have been defective and not working correctly. It has been 3 hours since I put it on and still only 82 and the temperture in my house is 69.....not much more I can do other than find another with higher than 8 watts or infered heat bulb.

 

[gothra]

When you place the probe, lay it down horizontally and have something like a small stone to hold it down. It might not be as accurate if you just have the tip of it touching the ground surface.

 

[ncbeast]

When you place the probe, lay it down horizontally and have something like a small stone to hold it down. It might not be as accurate if you just have the tip of it touching the ground surface.

Do you really think that would make a difference? Do you mean a small rock under the back of the probe so the tip touches down on the tile? Or do you mean a small rock on the tip to hold it down? I had it this way before with rock holding down just the tip and was told by a comment on here not to do that because it would give a false reading?

This is really a pain, the temp after the 25 watt day bulb turned off has dropped to 81?

Going to start another thread to see how others mount their temperture probe.

 

[gothra]

I don't know, I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that the whole probe has to be on the ground instead of just the tip. This is how I place my themostat and thermometer probe:

 

[Insubordinate]

... and was told by a comment on here not to do that because it would give a false reading?

I dont see how it can give a false reading. maybe a more accurate one, but not a false.