Hydrofarm Thermostat with a tub?

So I've heard mixed things for this thermostat...
Once I get a confirmed 'OK' I'll be working on saving for a Ball Python and I've heard that the Hydrofarm Thermostat is a cheap, but good thermostat. Is it alright to use with an UTH with a rubbermaid bin?

Yes it is

Alright. :3 I was told by one member(whose information has been so helpful to me!) that it'd be better to put the heat pad on a piece of glass underneath the tank to regulate it better.(I think I worded that correctly...) The Thermostat is an on/off one too

glass or tile either will work :)

So it would be better to do that? I have ceramic tiles I think unless my sis is going to use them again for her dragon.

It's better to have it heat the tile to the temp needed and that in turn heats the tub?
So where would I place the probe on that? On the heat pad, inside the tub, or on the tile?

I would place the probe on the heat tape

That will make the tile hot enough to heat the floor of the tub to the right heat?

yes, but you may have to set your thermostat to a higher setting to achieve the desired temps inside the tub.

So here would be my set up:
I'd have the tub sitting with the tile on the hot side(I would need something to prop the other side up though) And under the tile/glass I'd have the heat pad.. would I need something to raise the heat pad off whatever surface I have it on? And then the thermostat probe would be on the heat pad.
Inside I'd have a digital thermometer w/ probe and the probe for that would be placed on the floor on the hotside to measure the temperature of the floor and add or subtract the temp on the thermostat as needed to make the hotside about 92*F.

That's it :)

Alright! I just have to find something to prop the cage up. *thinks(

Anyway, thanks for all your help! :3

Any time :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fluffpuffgerbil

Alright. :3 I was told by one member(whose information has been so helpful to me!) that it'd be better to put the heat pad on a piece of glass underneath the tank to regulate it better.(I think I worded that correctly...) The Thermostat is an on/off one too

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You can also use pieces of wood, and in the past, I have also used Polystyrene insulation under my tubs. Usually, which ever material that you decide to use, goes under the UTH. It is not always necessary, but it can serve two purposes:

1) It protects the surface that the tub is sitting on from being accidentally scratched, scuffed, or damaged.
2) In my case, where my tubs are sitting on grated shelves, the base provides a more stable platform for my tubs, and it also helps prevent heat loss from the space between the shelves.

Here is the link to a thread that I made on how I set up my tubs. Hopefully you can use it to get some ideas on different ways or options to setting up a tub.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...Basics...*DUW*

I have one of THESE Ultratherm heatpads for my tub. I know it's not supposed to get over a certin temp but I want to have a safety net by using one of those Hydrofarm's. I cut a piece of cardboard the size of the heatpad and lined the top of the cardboard piece with foil to reflect the heat from the UTH back up to the tub and placed the UTH on top of that foil. I put the probe in the center of the UTH between the tub and the UTH. I also went to Lowes and bought some of those little feet to raise the tub up slightly to keep airflow between the two. It works really well so far.

fluffpuffgerbil this thread demonstrates the issues that can happen with On/off type t-stats under certain conditions.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...=1#post1609306

hydrofarms seem to be a bit better but the same issues exist. They do best under stable warm room temps and indirect heat where the heat is not directly transferred to the enclosure.

The addition of something glass, tile, plastic is that you are applying heat to something that is a bit slow to heat up and slow to cool down. When you get the full power temp spike from the heater the heating element might hit 120 for a min (I checked with hydrofarm tech support it adjusts every min and has a probe accuracy of +/- 3% of set point... about 3º)

With a glass tank it usually isn't quite the same issue as glass in slower to heat than some. But with a tub it is fast. Just for your own info if you have an ir gun take lid of a tub or ice cream container lid if you don't check the temp them place your hand behind the plastic for one min and check again. I had 76 before and 88 after you can watch the temp go up.

With the heat directly on similar plastic for one min how hot will the inside get before the unit checks the temp again?

The heaviness of the material will vary depending on the wattage of the heating element. A higher heating, heat source will need something heavier a low wattage one smaller. Tile will work as long as it is not too heavy to get the correct temps through. A bit of testing before you apply it to the snake might be in order start with the tile as you have it already. If it is too much try a bit of glass (1/8 window maybe) and if that is too much a sheet of plastic, like 1/8 styrene (grey stuff from most hobby shops)

Would this work to try and regulate it?: http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/z...emType=product


I just wanted to see if something cheap and what I hear has great reviews.
If set the t-stat at 90*F then the temp would go from 87*-93* right?
If anything I could use a glass tank....I wouldn't have to regulate it with anything, right? A 5gal for a young one I think? (Am wanting a hatchling) Before I even put the snake in the tank though, I would test is several days before and have it running to make sure everything is in order.


With regulating it with a tub, I'd have the item I linked to underneath the heatpad which is underneath the tub? (So from top to bottom the order is: Tub heat pad, glass/tile/plastic/ect..)

fluffpuffgerbil, I may have missed it but whatever happened with the letter to your dad? Is this discussion because you got the go ahead?

http://www.reptilebasics.com/johnson...stat-pre-wired
How's this thermostat? Anyone use it? And I can't figure out if it's proportional or on/off...

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Originally Posted by RetiredJedi

fluffpuffgerbil, I may have missed it but whatever happened with the letter to your dad? Is this discussion because you got the go ahead?

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:3 He hasn't given me a 100% yes, but he hasn't told me no either. I've given him time to think about it, I'm just planning ahead. He was asking questions about the snake and I think his main thing was how big(thick) they got. I'm trying to think of somewhere that has adult BPs that I could show him... there is one place called House of Reptiles that has adult BPs, but they aren't on display. They were in the back. And one petstore I went to I wanted to hold the snake to show it to mom, but the guy there said I'd have to be interested in buying it. (It was a normal for $80!!! It's an awful petstore, but they had one of the biggest ones I had seen besides one at petco)


So I'm still waiting on a positive answer, but he hasn't said no. Anytime he hasn't flat out say no, he seems to come around to the idea. He did say they seem like a lot less work than the pets I already have.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fluffpuffgerbil

http://www.reptilebasics.com/johnson...stat-pre-wired
How's this thermostat? Anyone use it? And I can't figure out if it's proportional or on/off...

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I use a johnsons and it's an on/off. It works fairly well as far as on/offs go, but I also use hydrofarm and there isn't much difference. Also depending on the UTH I'm not sure why you'd need anything between that and the plastic. I use flexwatt on my DIY rack I made, I taped the flexwatt down to wooden boards, taped the probe on top of the flexwatt, and then I just add and remove the tub as needed (for cleaning, feeding, etc.)

I figured for the UTH I'd just use Zoomed I think it is. The type that petco and petsmart has in stores.

So if the JC t-stat and the Hydrofarm aren't much different, I might as well go with the hydrofarm since it's $40 cheaper.

Yes the the plastic sheet likely would do as long as it isn't too stinky or really thin. Hydrofarms are ok same for Johnson's and rancos the latter are a bit more accurate. (+/-2ºF on the probe) they all can be set up to work. It often takes a bit of tinkering to get things exactly right. If you get the go ahead, you can show your dad some true responsibility and make a really good start by setting up your enclosure with heat and t-stat substrate water bowl everything but a snake. Often it takes a week to stabilize and trouble shoot to get things right. Do your future snake a favour and take that time before you bring it home so that you are not fumbling around trying to get it right and causing the poor thing more stress by fussing with everything and temperature variations while you make adjustments.

Don't worry. :3 I did that with one of my beardies(the other was a surprise rescue)and planned to do that with the snake so I could truly leave it alone for a week besides water changes every couple days and checking temp/humidity.
I like to have everything set up before I get the actual animal.