Question on Temperature Differences

I just installed my Hydrofarm thermostat. I taped the probe to the uth with aluminum tape. The thermostat is set to the max 108. The temp directly on the glass inside the tank above the uth is 99. The temp on top of the substrate above the uth is 87. The substrate is only 1/2" thick. Looking for some advice on how to raise the surface temp and balance it more with the thermostat.

Thanks!

OK simple answer you cant. I set my T-stat to 98 under the tank My glass is 95 at the top and substrat is 92, you could use a thiner layer ot substrate but you will loose some heat going threw the glass and substrate. How do you check the temps would be my other question. Temp gun is the only accurate way and a good digital thermometer is the second best way. Hope this helps :D

Thanks for the response. I would expect a few degrees difference like you have. But mine is a 21 degree difference! 108 on thermostat and 87 on the substrate. That seems a bit much. Can't figure out why though.....?

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Originally Posted by RestlessRobie

OK simple answer you cant. I set my T-stat to 98 under the tank My glass is 95 at the top and substrat is 92, you could use a thiner layer ot substrate but you will loose some heat going threw the glass and substrate. How do you check the temps would be my other question. Temp gun is the only accurate way and a good digital thermometer is the second best way. Hope this helps :D

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Hi,

As mentioned it is probably just your substrate acting as an insulator.

Use a thinner layer/ different substrate until you find the combo that works best for you. :)


dr del

What are your ambient temps?
Try reducing your sub layer down to about 1/4 inch and verifying your ambient temps are around 80 degrees.

I reduced the bedding down as far as I can now without the wire from my thermometer coming through. That helped a little. Thermostat is 108 and surface temp is now 90. My ambient temp is 70.


QUOTE=jdouglas;1737031]What are your ambient temps?
Try reducing your sub layer down to about 1/4 inch and verifying your ambient temps are around 80 degrees.[/QUOTE]

What bedding are you using?
Do you have an infrared thermometer? (if so check the heat mat to verify the 108 temp) did you foil tape over the tip of the probe? or over the cord? Try over the cord the tape on the probe tip can cause it to read inaccurately.
You will need a way to increase the ambient temps in the tank 70 is way to low. This can cause an RI.

The following thread suggests most people dont think the ambients should be below 75(and perfer higher)
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...low-can-you-go

What kind of cage are you using? size? material? (pics of your setup will help)
What heating source are you using? (a single UTH is normally not enough to raise ambients in a tank if the room temp is below 78degrees)


In my cold room around 72degrees it takes 2 UTH's both on hydrofarms (1 warm side and one in the middle to create a variant in temps) and 1 60watt CHE on a dimmer(to raise ambient temps to 78+) to keep my 20L tank at the correct temps. And the screen Lid is 3/4 covered with foil/tape.

However with the cost of this you may want to look into either tubs(with small rack enclosure) or a PVC cage. Because with this much heat in my tank I have humidity issues (having to mist 3-4 times a day).

You need to remove the aluminum tape from the thermostat probe. It is known to mess with their readings. I personally use some hot glue on the wire of the probe to keep them in place. The aluminum tape might not be the problem here, but it should be fixed none the less.

There are a handful of small things all adding together, substrate layer thickness, al tape on probe and ambient air temps low. The last bit of thing to keep in mind is hydrofarm T-Stats are simply not accurate they have a 2ºC +/- error margin (4ºF apx) Just because it says it is 108 does not mean it is. Trust a good thermometer and figure the hydrofarm is not correct. I have tested 3 and all were incorrect.

I certainly believe for 1 your thermostat reading of 108 is off because of the foil tape on the probe, and 2 your ambient temps are way to low.

And the UTH cant heat the surface of the substrate from 70degrees to the recommended 90-92 degrees.
This will also cause your cool side to sit around 70 degrees instead of the recommended 80-82 degrees.

And Kitedemon is correct both of my hydrofarms are off by 1 degree. One is +1.4 and one is -1.1 degrees. This is verified with 2 Acu-rites and 2 Infrared Thermometers all reading the exact temps.

This is fine but you do need to know how far they are off to correctly dial in your temps.

My temps are being measure with an Accurite thermometer. I will be picking up a CHE today as well so that should help take care of things. Thanks for the information!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jdouglas

What bedding are you using?
Do you have an infrared thermometer? (if so check the heat mat to verify the 108 temp) did you foil tape over the tip of the probe? or over the cord? Try over the cord the tape on the probe tip can cause it to read inaccurately.
You will need a way to increase the ambient temps in the tank 70 is way to low. This can cause an RI.

The following thread suggests most people dont think the ambients should be below 75(and perfer higher)
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...low-can-you-go

What kind of cage are you using? size? material? (pics of your setup will help)
What heating source are you using? (a single UTH is normally not enough to raise ambients in a tank if the room temp is below 78degrees)


In my cold room around 72degrees it takes 2 UTH's both on hydrofarms (1 warm side and one in the middle to create a variant in temps) and 1 60watt CHE on a dimmer(to raise ambient temps to 78+) to keep my 20L tank at the correct temps. And the screen Lid is 3/4 covered with foil/tape.

However with the cost of this you may want to look into either tubs(with small rack enclosure) or a PVC cage. Because with this much heat in my tank I have humidity issues (having to mist 3-4 times a day).

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I tried the hot glue on the wire. My only concern with that is now the probe itself isn't touching the heat mat. It is pretty much dangling a little bit away from the mat. Won't that cause issues?

Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

You need to remove the aluminum tape from the thermostat probe. It is known to mess with their readings. I personally use some hot glue on the wire of the probe to keep them in place. The aluminum tape might not be the problem here, but it should be fixed none the less.

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Don't hold me to this since I didn't use hot glue. But I assume if your not using tape you can use the glue on the tip of the probe to fasten it. I just wouldn't use a lot maybe a small spec on the very tip.
I am sure serpent will chime in with a correct answer shortly.

I know you said you tape the wire. How do you do it? Do you just tape the wire right up to the probe? Does that hold the probe close enough to the uth itself?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jdouglas

Don't hold me to this since I didn't use hot glue. But I assume if your not using tape you can use the glue on the tip of the probe to fasten it. I just wouldn't use a lot maybe a small spec on the very tip.
I am sure serpent will chime in with a correct answer shortly.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Twiegs

I know you said you tape the wire. How do you do it? Do you just tape the wire right up to the probe? Does that hold the probe close enough to the uth itself?

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Most of the care sheets on this site say never to use tape inside the enclosure since you snake can get stuck on it and potentially die. I'm also just starting out, but I just buried the cord deeply under the bedding and stuck the corner of his hide over the place it stretches down into the tank and so far my snake hasn't messed with it at all. I'll probably put a few spots of hot glue on to stick it down when I have to change his bedding. Good luck!

Not sure if this is posted, but when you use foil tape dont tape encasing the entire probe. Just tape the end of probe and just before thhe probe. This keeps the center exposed to ambient room temp, so it can operate properly and not get false readings.

If the temp below the substrate is 108 degrees aren't you worried about the snake burning himself if he digs down? I was told in a previous post to never let anything get that hot.

Thank you everyone for the information. I have The temps dialed in now. I took the foil tape off the thermostat probe and starting using a CHE on a dimmer. Temps are 90 and 80 now. We are good to go!