wattage for tank heat emitter

My wife and I are looking at ceramic heat emitters to replace the 250 watt red brood lights. For a 55 gallon tank, do we need 250 watts, or would 100 / 150 work?

Are any sides of the tank insulated? 100% wire top or covered? You could use two or even three ceramic heats an or small light/heat bulbs.

Use a 75 watt on the hot end an a 50 watt on the cool end. Insulate the back an sides of the tank, foam is cheap. What temp is the tanks room?

as of right now, the tank is not insulated. It has an open wire top, but we have put clear plastic over it, except directly under the light to help preserve humidity. The temp of the room is 68F during the day, and 66F at night. What is the cheapest decent way to insulate, and how? Cost is a big issue.

Foam from Lowes or Home Depo is cheap. They have 20 different types. You can use two sided tape to put it on the glass. An remove it when you want to. Some people will glue it on the sides an back this makes removal messy. I use R-max because I have it left over from a job an it's not cheap, so I didn't toss it. Styrofoam is cheap. Some types here:

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Building...n/N-5yc1vZbaxx

For the top I use hard cardboard wrapped in foil. It keeps the heat in.

Good luck!

I went to Lowes and had them cut a sheet of plexiglass, and a $2.00 cabinet knob. I got my insulation board from Hobby Lobby, it's was cheaper and they have 40% off all the time. The thing I like so far on my tank is that I can slide the plexi glass forward and back to adjust ventilation and humidity.

I still can't get images to post from my gallary. If you look at page 5 of this thread you can see it or search for my gallary.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ng-ahead/page5

Does the plexiglass stand up to the head from the heatsource bulbs? I thought plexi would bubble/melt/burn

It depends on the distance between the bulb and the cage floor.

Here is a good guide http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/ceramic_heater.php

Of course ambient temp in the room will play a part as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BearDrummer

Does the plexiglass stand up to the head from the heatsource bulbs? I thought plexi would bubble/melt/burn

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You need the ceramic on the screen. So that's why I posted foil. You can use plex but NOT under ceramic.

On my tanks the have ceramic heaters on top, I use a wire grate over the screen lid. The ends of the screen is covered with foil wrapped hardboard to keep heat an humidity in. I'm not sure the screen can take the weight of the booders.