Anyone Use Reptile Mats For Tropical Sundews?

[jimscott]

I'm still trying to find an effective way to create a tropical environment for my Petiolaris complex and other assorted hot and humid types. I'm tossing it around in my mind to redo my fishtank setup, either with that tank or something else more shallow. I'd like to put a bottom layer of clean, rinsed sand, followed by a layer of rines peat, with a good layer of LFS on top. And then I'd place my tropicals into this substrate, without using pots. But how to effectively provide heat without taking up a lot of room with a heater and a jar? Not sure how to resolve this.

 

[Pyro]

A mat is not going to work, too much substrate to be able to heat it effectively.

You might be able to get away with a heat cable buried 2-5cm under the surface if you want the media itself heated. Or along the top perimeter if the tank is sealed and will hold the heat in.

 

[NaRnAr]

yea the reptile heat mats (the under tank heaters im assuming?) will wreck havoc on your glass if they are placed under an area that is really watery as the water will heat and crack the glass.

Perhaps like pyro said, there are heating coils that are meant for fish tanks that might work...something like:
http://www.petdiscounters.com/c69/c87/Hydrokable-Heating-Cables-p249.html

 

[Pyro]

Perhaps like pyro said, there are heating coils that are meant for fish tanks that might work...something like:
http://www.petdiscounters.com/c69/c87/Hydrokable-Heating-Cables-p249.html

WOW!!! Waterproof ones!! Styling!

 

[Not a Number]

As I recall Peter (pingman) uses cables to heat his petiolaris complex tank. There maybe a photo somewhere.

My tank is just over the Sarracenia seedling growing lights that are on 24 hours and gets most of the heat from the lights.

 

[RL7836]

Jim,
I used wide heat tape to heat my petio tanks (& then insulated the bottom & 3 sides to keep the heat in). This tape will heat up to ~120*F. However, if you go this route, you will need a way to regulate the heat. While there are less expensive methods, I would recommend a proportional controller (I think that was the name). While the proportional controller reduces the stress on the glass, there still is heat applied directly against the glass & this does produce stress - aka: there is a chance of breakage. In addition to using tape under the tank, it's also possible to use it on the sides / back.

A caveat to using the heat tape: I wasn't real happy with the safety aspect of using the heat tape as it was supplied. The clips that attach to the tape are somewhat difficult to make completely safe. I created something that I think was quite safe but it was labor intensive (& only recommended for someone with 'tools' & time).

The heating cables listed above are an interesting idea. I'd be curious as to how much heat they can actually provide. Most current heaters designed for tropical fish have some type of safety that keeps the heater from getting very hot - so fish are not fried....

As for the other part of your idea - planting everything together - many people have tried this and all of whom I'm aware - got frustrated & tore it down (also agree w/ Pyro - that much substrate will be difficult to heat up effectively).

 

[jimscott]

Thank you all for your feedback. Looks like for now I'll keep things the way they are. I just go through a lot of distilled water, due to the evaporation.

How about Saran Wrap to cover the back and sides (above the fluorescent light), while keeping the front open?