Question about using foil on tank to hold in heat/humidity

I was reading where some people use foil on top of their tanks to help hold in heat and humidity. Can that also be used on one side with the lamps on the other? And is foil tape needed or is there another tape I can use instead?

I don't suggest using heat lamps unless they are on a dimmer and turned down and that's only if ambient temps are too low. I think as long as the tape remains on the outside of the enclosure you can use any kind you like. Don't ever put any kind of tape inside the enclosure. The top can be covered between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way.

I don't know what others will say but I use foil on top and on three sides and it seems to work really well. I only use a UTH for heat and according to my heat gun all the temps/humidity are good to go. The foil seems to reflect the heat back in to the tank.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

I don't suggest using heat lamps unless they are on a dimmer and turned down and that's only if ambient temps are too low. I think as long as the tape remains on the outside of the enclosure you can use any kind you like. Don't ever put any kind of tape inside the enclosure. The top can be covered between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way.

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Why not heat lamps? The temps seem to be good and the humidity is good when I have something covering the top a bit.

Heat lamps get very hot and can spike the ambient temp too much in my experience. Plus, it sucks for humidity and causes bad sheds in most cases. If you use analog guages, the temps and humidity you read is not correct.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

Heat lamps get very hot and can spike the ambient temp too much in my experience. Plus, it sucks for humidity and causes bad sheds in most cases. If you use analog guages, the temps and humidity you read is not correct.

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I am using a temp gun that was recommended on here (I check it a few times a day). I have a couple analog hygrometers (one is a Flukers someone suggested and I forget what the other one is) but I do want to get a digital one this week.

Heat lamps. Horrible for humidity, unreliable and unstable heat source. My main heating element is a UTH. My heat lamp is used only when AMBIENT temperatures drop below 80, even on the hot side. My water dish is below this lamp so that when it comes on it still wouldn't kill humidity too much. Having it on thermostat at a low temperature means that very little power goes through it and thus not much humidity is lost either.

Heat lamps heat up the air temperatures (especially above) much more than the temperature of the floor, so the temp gun would not be good to measure what the heat lamp is doing. Most of the heat it produces actually goes up away from the enclosure, unlike the UTH which heats from bottom up. Because of this inefficiency, using them as a primary heat source is very inefficient and will be a problem for humidity. As long as the floor is heated I find it alright, just ensure ambient temps arent exceptionally low, below 80. Floors heated from my UTH. I have foil covering all the openings except the round hole just under the lamp. Its on a thermostat set at 80.

Even when I test with the temp gun down at the floor of the tank it's not going to give me a realiable temp reading?

It will be accurate for the floor surface, but the temperature of the air say 5 inches above the surface may have a big difference. That's why I find it pretty inefficient, and what I meant when I said heats the air more than surfaces.