I feel stupid...

I got so stupidly excited to see my package today. I set up my thermostat and thermometer when I realized...my tubs won't slide into my rack with a heat pad on the bottom. I'm so disappointed in myself for not checking on this first that I cried :( I'm terrified to use heat tape because I don't know how any of it works or how to wire it or how to hook it to a thermostat. I don't want to hurt my kiddos. For now, I have it set up in an empty tank to check for accuracy and functionality :/

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Heat tape isn't that scary! You can order it from RBI and it will be fully wired and have a plug you plug into the thermostat just like a pad from the pet store.

Just weave one continuous piece of heat tape throughout the rack. ..I tape only the edges of the heat tape down with some aluminum tape. And yeah RBI will connect the ends for you, just measure and see how many feet of heat tape you will need and what width you want.

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Originally Posted by JLC

Heat tape isn't that scary! You can order it from RBI and it will be fully wired and have a plug you plug into the thermostat just like a pad from the pet store.

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That sounds better x.x

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Originally Posted by efb3

Just weave one continuous piece of heat tape throughout the rack. ..I tape only the edges of the heat tape down with some aluminum tape. And yeah RBI will connect the ends for you, just measure and see how many feet of heat tape you will need and what width you want.

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How would I do that? I thought I'd need a different strip for each shelf

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I've never bought it, but I think you can just tell them you have 3 shelves and you need x feet for each one and you want it to be y width.


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Another idea is heat cable.


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Heat tape is literally the exact same thing as a heat pad. It's just packaged a bit differently. You set it up the exact same way.

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Originally Posted by gameonpython

Another idea is heat cable.


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How does it work?

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Originally Posted by tbowman

Heat tape is literally the exact same thing as a heat pad. It's just packaged a bit differently. You set it up the exact same way.

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Sounds more like it lol

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So here is my rack
http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...027e06f26f.jpg
I really like the design of it. I might build another for larger tubs. But I want to do it right. Any heating suggestions that would work better than others? Heat pads are not going to work here, as I found yesterday. I've watched videos on heat tape and I am still wondering why it looks so complicated. So does cable!
Also, note that I have large tubs in this rack as well as smaller tubs.

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As JLC mentioned you can order heat tape from reptile basics. There is an option when ordering for them for them to finish off the ends for you.

Just measure the length of each shelf and add enough to reach down to the next shelf below. My 28 quart, 7 tall racks used 18 feet worth.

Id recommend 3" or 4". Just weave and use silver aluminum tape to hold it down. Your tubs should fit just fine!



EDIT: I didn't realize it was a closed rack... You may need to have someone help you with it. Put a small hole in the back corner of each shelf in order to wire individual heat tape pieces...

You may definitely need some help if your not that handy.

A lot of keepers loose their collections due to fire... Probably unsafe wiring...

i hooked up 6 strips of heat tape parallel myself on a rack i built. the process itself was fairly simple (once u get the hang of it) but it's easy to mix-up the wires. make sure the wires from one end of one heat tape matches with the end on the second, third and so on. don't cross wires!

also make sure the heat tape is of the same size, length and manufacture to keep the wattage uniform so that u may run the whole set (if parallel/all connected) off the same thermostat.

once u get heat tape running, it works great!

Edit: also don't feel bad! u underestimated the height of the tub + heat pad but u know how to fix it now. lots of great advice here. :)

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Originally Posted by Tsanford

As JLC mentioned you can order heat tape from reptile basics. There is an option when ordering for them for them to finish off the ends for you.

Just measure the length of each shelf and add enough to reach down to the next shelf below. My 28 quart, 7 tall racks used 18 feet worth.

Id recommend 3" or 4". Just weave and use silver aluminum tape to hold it down. Your tubs should fit just fine!



EDIT: I didn't realize it was a closed rack... You may need to have someone help you with it. Put a small hole in the back corner of each shelf in order to wire individual heat tape pieces...

You may definitely need some help if your not that handy.

A lot of keepers loose their collections due to fire... Probably unsafe wiring...

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It's open in the back actually ^^ just has two thin pvc boards to keep tubs from going too far back

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Originally Posted by Ax01

i hooked up 6 strips of heat tape parallel myself on a rack i built. the process itself was fairly simple (once u get the hang of it) but it's easy to mix-up the wires. make sure the wires from one end of one heat tape matches with the end on the second, third and so on. don't cross wires!

also make sure the heat tape is of the same size, length and manufacture to keep the wattage uniform so that u may run the whole set (if parallel/all connected) off the same thermostat.

once u get heat tape running, it works great!

Edit: also don't feel bad! u underestimated the height of the tub + heat pad but u know how to fix it now. lots of great advice here. :)

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If I have a friend who is very good with electrical wiring, does it help any? ;)

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Yea, if you have a friend who is good with electrical then ask them to help you out. Once you see them wire it up you will know how to do it. You could run one strip of heat tape on the back of the rack if you wanted to do back heat, most people including myself do belly heat.