So whats better?

I was wondering for my rack setup what would be better to use to control temps?? Using Flexwatt 11'' wide 6 shelf unit.

The best you could use are herpstats.
http://www.spyderrobotics.com

The cheaper option:
http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-MTPR...ords=Hydrofarm

I was waiting a while for this reply ahhaahahah :clap: Herpstat Redline ordered woot woot

herpstats are IMO the best.

Followed by - Vivarium Electronics, followed by Johnson Controls (A419) But I really don't recommend the A419. I have more than one of all of these and the A419 does the job, but I don't like the lack of proportional control.

I always recommend herpstats. If someone tells me they cannot afford a herpstat, I will say don't go for a cheaper thermostat, but instead use what you have for now, or a well monitored rheostat setup until you have saved enough for a herpstat. This is my biased opinion.

Love the herpstat, and if you buy one with more ports than you think you would possibly need you don't have to buy another one when you inevitably add more racks. ;)

Herpstats are the way to go

i was recently blown away by the thermostat system of a professional discus fish breeder. illuminated displays showing the temperatures in real-time with a resolution of 0.1 degrees centigrade on every tank. and all the 20 tanks were within a margin of 0.6 degrees. and all the values were also on the computer monitor.

i was seriously wondering if their system had an integrated webserver or not.

I switched from a cheapo non-proportional thermostat to a rheostat, then to a herpstat 4... Now I don't know how I dealt with constantly checking the rheostat... I"ve been seriously spoiled by the herpstat. And, since it has 4 ports, it'll be able to service the 2 racks I want to get in the future plus separate tank setups ,etc. I have had zero problems with the herpstat since I got it about 1 month ago.

These Herpstat's can get kind of expensive when you have alot of tubs to heat. So my question to those who have lets say 20 tubs or tanks to heat....how do you keep them all heated? Do you have 5 Herpstat 4's pluged in or what do you do?

Most with that many tubs have rack systems

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

Most with that many tubs have rack systems

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So the whole Rack system is actually wired down to one or two prongs? I was looking at getting a rack or build one and wasnt for sure the way the heat system was set. Right now I dont use any UTH's I just heat the room. So far I havent had any problems, but looking to upgrade the whole thing.

The rack is wired to one plug that uses one port on the thermostat

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

The rack is wired to one plug that uses one port on the thermostat

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Cool thank you! That helps me make my mind up! Now just to come up with the $2000 to get 2 V70-11 Racks!

Yeah... That's why I opted for the 4... Although I only have 2 solo tanks at present, it'll eventually be running 1 rack for my sand boas / hognose and 1 rack for BPs, plus a couple single tanks that I may have setup. It was cheaper to buy one herpstat 4, than to buy 1 herpstat 2 now and have to buy another in a year or so when I get the racks setup.

Just make sure you do not exceed the wattage per plug and total unit wattage (I believe it gives the stats on the spyder electronics website).

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Originally Posted by artgecko

Yeah... That's why I opted for the 4... Although I only have 2 solo tanks at present, it'll eventually be running 1 rack for my sand boas / hognose and 1 rack for BPs, plus a couple single tanks that I may have setup. It was cheaper to buy one herpstat 4, than to buy 1 herpstat 2 now and have to buy another in a year or so when I get the racks setup.

Just make sure you do not exceed the wattage per plug and total unit wattage (I believe it gives the stats on the spyder electronics website).

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You do know all heat sources need to be the same. Meaning... all heat tape or all heat pads or all same type of bulb...

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Originally Posted by Crazymonkee

You do know all heat sources need to be the same. Meaning... all heat tape or all heat pads or all same type of bulb...

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Crazymonkee- This is true with some thermostats... The herpstat 4 has 4 channels which each have a plug and probe. Each channel can be programmed to a different temp and even to be proportional or not, some of the channels will even do humidity as well as temp. That said, I can run a rack on one channel (with heat tape that is the same on each level of the rack) and run a tank UTH on another channel. As long as the probes and channel settings are setup correctly and I do not exceed the wattage listed, the herpstat will function correctly. Right now I am running 2 channels, each set to different temps and with different wattage UTH's and the herpstat is keeping the temps great in both tanks. That is the reason I went with the herpstat...several other multi-channel thermostats I looked at (I think the VE line was one) will only do one temperature setting for both channels.

what would be more useful: if you have lets say 3 racks, would you put one rach on one channel?

or would you instead put the lower third of all racks on one channel, the middle third on one channel, and the top third on one channel?

im just thinking if a rack is on one channel, maybe its a bit too cold at the bottom and too warm at the top...