Zoo Med or UltraTherm UTH

I currently have 2 zoo med UTH. I am ordering the Herpstat 2 for my thermostat. Is the zoo med UTH good with the tank or should I get ultratherm. Also I have one on each tank. Should I get more and put 2 on each tank?

I'm not an expert by any means, but I;m using Zoo Med and they're working very well.

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Originally Posted by ChrisBowsman

I'm not an expert by any means, but I;m using Zoo Med and they're working very well.

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Ditto.

Flexwatt :) You're getting a thermostat anyway, so why not use something that will at least last 10 years or so. Flexwatt panels are only $3 or so, and wiring is inexpensive at ReptileBasics.com. Why spend $30 on a heat pad, when you can get a wired 11" x 12" piece of flexwatt for around $6?. Less chance of failure too.

UltraTherm, its lighter weight and uses less electricity :gj:

if thats the case how much flexwatt would i need for a 20 gallon tank and a 10 gallon tank? is it the same as covering 1/3 of the tank? this would heat the whole tank to the needed temps substrate and ambient or should i say hot and cool side?

email Rich at Reptile Basics and he can tell you what you need and set it all up for you and ship it out. all you have to do is plug it in :gj:

Yup. Rich is THE man to talk to about that...he's awesome and incredibly helpful.

I've used both ZooMed (the main thing I have now since I get discounts at Petsmart) and Ultratherm and they both work fine. The Ultratherm is thinner, uses less electricity, supposedly never gets over the high 90's in temp even if full on, and is cheaper than the ZooMeds tho. :)

But for ultimate low price, the flexwatt wins. It's only a few dollars a foot and is said to last years and years...but you NEED a thermostat with it since it gets even hotter than the pads. But, since you're already getting a good stat, you should be just fine.

Since a 20L tank is 2.5 feet long, and a 10 gallon is 22" long, you'd probably need one 10" piece of 11" flex, and two 7" pieces of 4" flex for the 10gal. But that's just my estimate. Ask Rich to be sure. :)

I vote flexwatt as well. I have UTH's on my tubs currently, but am switching to flexwatt soon. I ordered some from Rich and he wired it up for me. It's really inexpensive and he ships SUPER fast. I got a UPS comfirmation email about 3 hours after I ordered!

I decided to stick with the zoo med one for each tank now. I got my thermostat today in the mail and right now they are working good.