under tank heater

I just bought a Zoo Med under tank heater for my BP. My tank is 55 gallon and the heater says it will heat up to 60 gallon, its the big heater. Anyway where do I put it, under the tank or side mount? And where exactly, middle or one end or the other? Substrate is 2 inches of cypress mulch and top soil, about a inch of both with the cypress on top of the soil.

Thanks

Mount it under the bottom of the tank on one end. Use something like aluminum tape to stick it on with, that way it will be easier to remove and re-apply if need be. A good way to tell if you have the correct size is the UTH should cover approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor area. I strongly recommend getting a thermostat or dimmer to control it, because an uncontrolled UTH can get hot enough to burn your snake.
I would also suggest using a thinner layer of substrate which will allow the heat to radiate up through it better. About 3/4" to 1" will work fine...

Here are a couple of pics of how mine are mounted. I use tubs but the mounting is the same for a tank...
First, the thermostat probe is mounted in position...

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0446.jpg

Then the UTH is mounted on...

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...8/hpim0448.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Vypyrz

Mount it under the bottom of the tank on one end. Use something like aluminum tape to stick it on with, that way it will be easier to remove and re-apply if need be. A good way to tell if you have the correct size is the UTH should cover approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the floor area. I strongly recommend getting a thermostat or dimmer to control it, because an uncontrolled UTH can get hot enough to burn your snake.
I would also suggest using a thinner layer of substrate which will allow the heat to radiate up through it better. About 3/4" to 1" will work fine...

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Got it. Good idea with the aluminum tape so it can be removed. This might be a dumb question but can I use duct tape rather than the aluminum tape? Also I will look into adding either a dimmer switch or thermostat, a thermostat will cut the heater off when it hits a set temp? That sounds more practical, where would I find that? The heater came from Ebay, half the price my local PetCo wanted. It is brand new too, not a reman!

I doubt a UTH will provide adequate heat alone unless your room is above 75.

Your better off taping the heat pad to the shelf and taping the thermostat probe to the heat tape, makes cleaning MUCH easier.

Do make sure your heat pad is plugged into a thermostat ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cordell

Got it. Good idea with the aluminum tape so it can be removed. This might be a dumb question but can I use duct tape rather than the aluminum tape? Also I will look into adding either a dimmer switch or thermostat, a thermostat will cut the heater off when it hits a set temp? That sounds more practical, where would I find that? The heater came from Ebay, half the price my local PetCo wanted. It is brand new too, not a reman!

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Yes, thermostats will turn the heater on/off to maintain a set temperature. Some pet stores carry thermostats, however, they usually have a high retail mark-up. Thermostats come in a variety of styles and prices, depending on what features you want and how much you want to spend. The basic thermostats start around $30. Here are some of the websites where you can look at the different models and decide which is right for you:

http://www.hydroasis.com/hy/productdetail.aspx?id=375

http://www.reptiledirect.com/search....nd=thermostats

http://www.reptilesupply.com/index.php?cPath=30_74

http://www.reptilebasics.com/thermostats/

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/products/herpstat.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I doubt a UTH will provide adequate heat alone unless your room is above 75.

Your better off taping the heat pad to the shelf and taping the thermostat probe to the heat tape, makes cleaning MUCH easier.

Do make sure your heat pad is plugged into a thermostat ;)

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With ambients in the low 80s, I left my UTH on for about an hour or so last night to see how hot it would get, and the glass above the UTH got to 109.8 degrees according to the accurite.

You can do without the topsoil even with only an inch of substrate. Easier to maintain and easier for the heat to go through.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Camarokidz28

With ambients in the low 80s, I left my UTH on for about an hour or so last night to see how hot it would get, and the glass above the UTH got to 109.8 degrees according to the accurite.

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Yep, definitely need a thermostat. Ebay sells Reptitemp 500R. It's ok for the price.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anatess

Yep, definitely need a thermostat. Ebay sells Reptitemp 500R. It's ok for the price.

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Just ordered one of these online, looks to be a good product.

I STRONGLY recommend getting this over the reptitemp 500R

http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...5106504&sr=8-6

Extremely accurate, Off/on style, Long probe cord, DIGITAL (thats important, digital is 100% better than dial)

I have used it for a few months now and its doing perfectly, I love it and I would HIGHLY recommend it to anybody who cannot afford the 100 - 300$ proportional ones

Good luck :)