Let me hear you ideas to heat my 46" x 3' x 2' vivarium iyo

Big vivarium and wanna hear what you all think will be the best way to heat it when it is finished. Just tired of looking so I'm consulting the experts...lol. Thanks.

32000 btu heater LOL

we have a 75 gallon tank, 48"longX18" deepx22"tall. screened tops. we have a large UTH on a rheostat under 1 side and a mini double dome over the other with 75 watt bulbs. 1 day bulb and 1 black heat. timers on the bulds change day to night at 630 p.m. and vica versa. sometimes we use towels over the screens to help stablize the heat and humidity. so far they stay pretty consistant with no intervention. we are BRAND NEW bp owners so this is all new, but this is whats working for our 53" baby! we plan on getting an actual thermostat soon to regulate temps better through the winter as it gets colder.

Well, I think I'd suggest a radiant heat panel. These tend to give off heat that spans a broader area. It heats the air so it'll heat the whole unit to a certain extent. There will be a warm side directly under the RHP and a thermal gradient as you move over to the cool side. With the proper sized RHP, the cool side should still be heated enough to remain within the proper temperature zone. With a vivarium of the size you're building, it's going to take a high wattage RHP. I wouldn't venture to guess on that - I'd discuss it with an expert. I like the RHPs from Reptile Basics and Rich can definitely help you determine what size you'd need.

If you need a warmer spot near the ground since the vivarium is so tall, perhaps you can combine the RHP with a UTH on the warm side. You would of course need a second thermostat or a dual-zone thermostat to operate both heating elements though.... :gj:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Well, I think I'd suggest a radiant heat panel. These tend to give off heat that spans a broader area. It heats the air so it'll heat the whole unit to a certain extent. There will be a warm side directly under the RHP and a thermal gradient as you move over to the cool side. With the proper sized RHP, the cool side should still be heated enough to remain within the proper temperature zone. With a vivarium of the size you're building, it's going to take a high wattage RHP. I wouldn't venture to guess on that - I'd discuss it with an expert. I like the RHPs from Reptile Basics and Rich can definitely help you determine what size you'd need.

If you need a warmer spot near the ground since the vivarium is so tall, perhaps you can combine the RHP with a UTH on the warm side. You would of course need a second thermostat or a dual-zone thermostat to operate both heating elements though.... :gj:

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i thought RHP's were more for hot spots than overall temps, they do put out good outward temps though? cause they seem to me like they would just direct it downward more than out

46 wide by 36 tall by 24 deep correct?

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

46 wide by 36 tall by 24 deep correct?

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yes that is correct.

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Originally Posted by cmack91

i thought RHP's were more for hot spots than overall temps, they do put out good outward temps though? cause they seem to me like they would just direct it downward more than out

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If you get an appropriately sized RHP, it can raise ambient temps on the cool side as well as create a hot spot. (For example, my 4x2x1 pvc enclosure had a 12 by 15 inch radiant heat panel, and easily raised ambient temps on cool side to 77, hot spot to 93, and warm side to 83~, and my snake room is 68-70 in the winter time) With taller enclosures such as the viv the OP is talking about, I believe that using a UTH for a hot spot would be easier to control, and using either a bulb or a RHP to control ambients would work well.

Usually a RHP would be mounted one one side, but I've seen some people mount it right in the middle of the roof, and probably use it to control ambient temps.

If RHPS and Vivs were financially viable, I would get them for all my snakes :D Especially because they look so nice and give your snakes a "natural" living environment. Unfortunately for those of us who want to breed, this isn't economically viable.

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Originally Posted by cmack91

i thought RHP's were more for hot spots than overall temps, they do put out good outward temps though? cause they seem to me like they would just direct it downward more than out

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Cody, I was thinking the same thing about RHP. But was thinking since it kinda acts like a sun, if I got a big enough one it may heat the air but would definately need alot of UTH. And I know we talked about CHE but I just think to cover that size CHE to make it safe for Kira my be difficult or just ruin the look of the viv. I mean I could hide it if worst comes to worst but I just want as little hazards in the viv as possible. Keep the ideas coming though. I appreciate all your input. Maybe I should make a poll outta this once I get a few more opinons.

Looks like RHP with UTH is in the lead so far. Let me know if you all agree or disagree with this and why.

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Originally Posted by VEXER19

Cody, I was thinking the same thing about RHP. But was thinking since it kinda acts like a sun, if I got a big enough one it may heat the air but would definately need alot of UTH. And I know we talked about CHE but I just think to cover that size CHE to make it safe for Kira my be difficult or just ruin the look of the viv. I mean I could hide it if worst comes to worst but I just want as little hazards in the viv as possible. Keep the ideas coming though. I appreciate all your input. Maybe I should make a poll outta this once I get a few more opinons.

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IMO you should contact Pro Products or Reptile Basics and tell them your size and dimensions of your vivarium. They will usually know best on what size RHP to recommend. Another great feature of the RHP is it cant actually burn your snake at all, since the snake cannot rest on top of it. It does take around one or two hours to heat up, but it definitely gets hot enough. Very reliable product imo.

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Originally Posted by mattchibi

IMO you should contact Pro Products or Reptile Basics and tell them your size and dimensions of your vivarium. They will usually know best on what size RHP to recommend. Another great feature of the RHP is it cant actually burn your snake at all, since the snake cannot rest on top of it. It does take around one or two hours to heat up, but it definitely gets hot enough. Very reliable product imo.

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Yeah thats why I have been leaning towards RHP. I care to much about my snake to put anything in there that can potentially hurt her. Ive been through and injury with her before and I am going to make sure that this is a safe enviroment for her. Especially cause I already have $600 invested in this viv and I didnt spend all that money just to hurt my baby. If I need to buy a pricey RHP then that is what I will do. She is my first and forever my favorite. So saftey first is important to me. Thanks for the info. I really do appreciate it.

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Originally Posted by VEXER19

Yeah thats why I have been leaning towards RHP. I care to much about my snake to put anything in there that can potentially hurt her. Ive been through and injury with her before and I am going to make sure that this is a safe enviroment for her. Especially cause I already have $600 invested in this viv and I didnt spend all that money just to hurt my baby. If I need to buy a pricey RHP then that is what I will do. She is my first and forever my favorite. So saftey first is important to me. Thanks for the info. I really do appreciate it.

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I have a spare ginormous 120W RBI RHP. I'm in Norcal too. PM me if you like to try it and see how it works.

whatever you do, either rhp or che, i would just worry about it not heating in the proper range, lets say you put it over the hot end, get that temp right, but your cool is too low, i wouldnt want to have to raise the hot temp too high just to get the cool end warm enough, or have t buy a second heat source. if your stuck on the rhp, i would get a uth for the hot side, and move the rhp more towards the cool side maybe? no matter what though, your gonna have to experiment with settings, and where to place it anyway, but im sure youd be able get either one to work with enough tweaking

I just question if a RHP will heat the floor to 80 from three feet away without being super hot to touch. I have helped set up a aboreal enclosure with one but it didn't seem like it would do such a distance. The foot print is large but the height I think will make everything very difficult for little gain.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I just question if a RHP will heat the floor to 80 from three feet away without being super hot to touch. I have helped set up a aboreal enclosure with one but it didn't seem like it would do such a distance. The foot print is large but the height I think will make everything very difficult for little gain.

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That why I was thinking of combining RHP with UTH.

I am certain you will need dual sources. RHP and a UTH plus dual t-stats. I'd make the suggestion that you should only look at proportional units as the heat sources will me inside the enclosure. Personally I'd also suggest a failsafe too.

If you're considering doing 2 heat elements and 2 t-stats anyway, you could always just do 2 UTH, one set to give 91 or so on the hot side, the other to give 83 on the cool side. Chances are your viv will be well enough insulated to get appropriate ambient temps just from those.

The RHP with the UTH on dual proportional t-stats will do you fine. There are certainly other options and this route may not be the cheapest, but I like how the RHP is SAFE. It works like the sun and it will heat the floor of the cage just fine after a while. If you leave something outside in the sun too long, it'll heat up - you know how concrete gets hot on your feet in the summer time? The sun heats it. The RHP does the same thing. The correct wattage is the key to getting the full vivarium heated appropriately. Combined with the UTH, you can achieve a nice localized hotspot. I would mount the RHP in the center but slightly offset towards the hot end where the UTH would be. This should create a good temperature gradient. However, I agree that you discuss this with the guys at Reptile Basics or Pro Products - they're experts on wattage and placement.

I do not think a CHE would be in your best interests. They are not as safe and they'll suck the humidity right out of there.

As far as t-stats, there are several you can pick from. But I would suggest the Vivarium Electronics VE-300x2. It is dual-zone, proportional, and has night-time drop. You can get that at Reptile Basics too.

:gj:

Thanks a lot I think that I will call reptile bsics and do the RHP and UTH setup with dual t-stats. Thanks for all of your help.

I would go with a herpstat 2 or a 4 depending on if you wanted to add the humidity and lighting controls. The herpstat 2 is cheaper than the VEs with similar features.

I talked to reptile basics today and they said that RHP and UTH will do the trick no problem.

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Originally Posted by VEXER19

I talked to reptile basics today and they said that RHP and UTH will do the trick no problem.

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Good for you! :gj:

Now you'll just need the right t-stat. The herpstats are a bit cheaper than the VE's so you'll just have to look at which has the features you want for the price that's right. They are both good t-stats and you definitely want a good one!

One thing to consider is shipping costs. If the place where you get the RHP from also sells t-stats, you might want to get it there. For instance, if you buy the RHP from Reptile Basics, they sell the VE t-stats and even though it might be more expensive than the herpstats, if you can combine the shipping, it might be cheaper than buying these items from different places. Sorry if that doesn't make sense - I'm tired and I think I'm rambling..... :rolleyes:

But whichever you choose will work well - as I said, they are both good!

And someone suggested that you have a backup and that would be a very good idea - especially since you'll have two heating elements in this cage.

So any more pics??? :D

Yea I can take more pics in about half an hour. Been working for the past 2 days but my wife finished the rock hide and I'm almost done insulating it but will have to wait till next paycheck to buy the heating and rest of the equiptmen since I dropped $600 already in equiptment and supplies. But its definately moving along.

Call the guy from Pro Products about his Pro Heat panels. He will explain everything to you and he is supper cool. Forgetting his name at moment but he always always the phone.

I will probably look into Pro Products just cause I have time until I purchase what I need. And I will check options and pricing. But The guy at Reptile Basics is cool as hell and he always answer and helps explain everything to you until you know what your talking about. But it doesnt hurt to shop around. Ill buy whatever I can off ebay and if I cant get it there like the t-stats, I will be buying those strait from the source.