Hi, I have been having a problem with keeping my tank in the 75-80 degree ferienheit range. So fare I've got a electric heat pad, it works fine and keeps the tank in the 75-80 range when left on the bottom but the problem is that the bottom gets really hot and damages the new growth that's coming out. So I removed it and left it on the side of the tank but the temps always stays in the 70's, what do you guys do to heat your tank?
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How do you heat your terrainium?
- Thread starter peter
- Start date
The best and cheapest way that I found to heat a tank is with the lights. I use compact fluorescent bulbs. They don't give off as much heat as incandescent bulbs do, so for me they are perfect. I put them right in the tank. I have never had a problem with overheating but you have to be very careful. I have a thermometer that records the highest and lowest temps. In the winter my temps have never gone above 90.
If you want more details in how I use the lights just let me know.
If you want more details in how I use the lights just let me know.
I have a 15 gal tank. The lights are a bit shorter, so I have them hanging right in the tank, though probably not like Ozzy's. There are two lights put back to back, and the rod is going through the screwholes that keep the covers on. (they don't really come off so it's not a problem). If you need more heat you could put a cover on top of the lights and tank. This setup keeps it about 5-10 degrees higher than room temp. In my case, that's 70-75 currently. A bonus is if you're trying to root nepenthes cuttings, you can bottom-warm the pots by placing them on top of the lights near the middle.
To heat my lowland tank from 70 F. to 80 F. I use one 65watt incadescent light at the bottom of the terrarium. I turn of the heat during the night and while I am gone during the day. The temp. inside the house is 56 F to 65 F during these times. I tried using an aquarium heater. I could only raise the temp in the tank by about 5 degress above the room temp. When I switched over the the incadescent light, I was much more pleased.
Another option that i use in one of my thanks is to have a standing water resivoir that you heat with a fish tank heater. I have a waterfall fixture in my frog tank that flows into a pond that has a heater in it. the temp of the water can raise the ambient temp in the tank quite a bit as well as provide higher humidity levels.
