few q's about new set up

i got an albino at the show, and had her in a tub. well the tub completly sucked. i got a 10 gal for her yesterday set it up and let it stabilize before i put her in there. i for got to take pics but heres how i set it up. i put a 10-20 uth under the hot side with a rheostat set at 91. i put the lamp with a 40watt che on the cool side to help with ambient. the temps were good during the day but at night it changed.

my questions are: is the lamp in the right place? my temps were way off last night. ambient was downt to 76f. and the cool hide temp was at 78f. second do i need a bigger wattage bulb? if so what wattage you recomend for a 10 gal tank? i want ambients to be at atleat 81f.

the other set up i have is way diferent and i cant go by that.

thanks

I would ditch the lamp and insulate the tank.

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Originally Posted by Jenn

I would ditch the lamp and insulate the tank.

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ok... let me clarify. i insulated all 3 sides of the tank including 90% of the screen top with foam board. i cannot ditch the lamp because my house stays between 68f and 71f. also the lamp will not be hurting my humidity. so please i need someone that can help me and not someone that will tell me to get something else or loose something. i need to work with what i have. i have another complete set up that i spent over $500(which was unnecessary) because i took the advise of some people in this forum. so i really dont want to do that. i know it can be done with what i got i just need a little help.
thanks

although the bulb's DO hurt my humidity, I would try a 50W bulb, maybe a 60 if you absolutely have to. The 50W keeps mine pretty good, and since it seems like everything else you have going on is fine, i'm thinking a higher wattage could make it better. That would probably be one of the cheapest ways to go. If you don't mind spending another 20ish dollars you could probably get another uth on the other side, but like you said you basically want to stick with what you have, which I understand because I am in basically the same position.

When I start a setup it usually takes me about a week or so to get it right where I want it. A lot of factors come into play like age of the home, location of reptile environment, equipment, under a AC vent, etc... Let's take a few steps back.

1. Is the tank near a drafty window? (No, seriously)
2. Is the tank by an interior or exterior wall?
3. Consider not going over 75 watts. (trial and error method)

Many moons ago, I was having the same issues with ambient temps :rage:. I looked at where the rack was currently vs where I can place the rack more efficiently :O. I managed (after a long week) to get things right where I needed them after placing the rack near a interior wall and fine tuning temps :D. It just worked out for me that way. Just a few more things to consider that can easily be overlooked ;). I hope this helps.

I think you may find that once you have insulated the sides and top your problem will be fixed. If you can do it without the lamp you will save yourself from going through this all over again with humidity once your temps are correct. I worry far more about humidity than temps. If your house is around 70 degrees it should be no problem to get the correct temps in a ten gallon tank with insulation alone. I have dozens of tanks set up (10's and 20's) and no heat lamps at all. All my temps and humidity levels are great and my house stays at 68-70 too!!!

I should also mention that the key to maintaining tempratures and humidity in a tank is all about the top. If you insulate the sides and 90% of the top all that heat and humidity will just leave the tank through that 10% that isn't covered.

This is a bit of work and a few more bucks but it's the ONLY way I have found to maintain temps and humidity in a tank. Get a piece of plexiglass and cut it to fit exactly in the recessed top of the tank (ie making it airtight). Now just drill holes at each end of the plexiglass. On a ten gallon tank I use about a dozen holes in the cool end and about twice as many in the warm end. This creates an airflow, in the cool end holes, down the side of the tank (cool air decends), across the bottom toward the warm end and across the water bowl (which creates humidity), finally to the warm end where it is heated and rises throught the warm end holes. I have a whole bunch of different tops with a different number of holes in each. That way I can change the humidity levels just by changing the top and adjusting the thermostat a bit. I know this sounds like a pain in the butt, but you only have to do it once and you're set.

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Originally Posted by MUSTANGGTANDGSXR

the temps were good during the day but at night it changed.

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It sounds to me like it probably changed at night because the temp in your house changed at night. You have very few choices in order to avoid that.

You could keep the temp in the house stable 24/7/365. That will end up costing a lot in extra heating and cooling bills.

You could get a good rheostat and adjust it several times every day.

You can get a good t-stat. The cheapest ones I know of that I would consider good enough are somewhere around $90 shipped. Not cheap but way less than the $500 you said your other set up cost and worth it IMHO.

I can't think of any other alternatives.

i got a tstat and now the uth is table and at 92f. should i put the lamp on the cool side since i have no uth on that side. if i do that the ambient temp on the hot side is 78-79f. or do i put it on the middle of the tank? thanks