Design My Tank

I'm picking up another 20Gal tank (I think it's 20, the long one.) and I'm not sure how I want to set up/decorate it (that's where you [can] come in!)

I've only ever used heat lamps so I'd like to try something new like heat mats. The limit is $250 (not including the tank, $350 including it.)
I want my ball to be as happy as can be with the best interior that [my] money can buy! =)
It doesn't have to be very fancy; my current ball enjoys his paper towel roll and black T-shirt. Currently using Zoo Med Forest Floor substrate but I can get another kind.

:floating: Thanks a bunch! :floating:

If your room temps stay over 75 you could get a way nicer Animal Plastics T8 set up with flexwatt heat tape as a hot spot within the budget you've got. Make sure you're including a thermostat in that budget as well. If the room is cooler you could go with a radiant heat panel instead. Definitely worth looking into as it will hold heat and humidity way more efficiently than any glass enclosure



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If your absolutely stuck on a glass tank go to pet supplies plus they usually have deals on $1/gallon I picked up 2 10 gl tanks for $20 plus like $5 each for screens. That leaves you more room for a quality thermostat and heat mat (reptile basics is the best for your bucks bc the ones at pet stores are 40-50$). Since your on a smaller budget I use the jump start thermostats and I love them so far. Make sure you have 2 identical hides and a heavy water dish and substrate and whatever's left extra you can get some extra fake vines and branches to give your ball some more security. Oh and a temp gun is a good way to double check your heat mat inside temps where your ball will lay.


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

If your room temps stay over 75 you could get a way nicer Animal Plastics T8 set up with flexwatt heat tape as a hot spot within the budget you've got. Make sure you're including a thermostat in that budget as well. If the room is cooler you could go with a radiant heat panel instead. Definitely worth looking into as it will hold heat and humidity way more efficiently than any glass enclosure

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My room ranges from 68-74°F. I live in New York so it's either really cold or really hot outside. Have any links to a radiant heat panel you think would be best?
I'm sticking with glass tanks for now. When I get more bps I plan on getting a rack system to save space.

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Originally Posted by BBotteron

Oh and a temp gun is a good way to double check your heat mat inside temps where your ball will lay.
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I'm not very familiar with heat mats. Do I get two of them to cover the entire floor of the tank? Does the substrate go on top of it?

You can do it 2 different ways a lot of people use only specific ambient temps and no heat mat. That way I have no idea the temps or any specifics.
With a heat mat you still have to keep your tank air temp 75-80* a heat mat stuck to the under side of your tank with a tstat probe between the heat mat and the glass still under the tank and then the temp on the glass directly above the heat mat on the inside should be around 90-92* then substrate then snake lol let me find the link and I'll post it out to set up glass tanks


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https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!

And forgot to say 1 heat mat on the hot side. A lot of confusion is the hot side/cold side the cold side is the entire tank air temperature at ground level. The hot side is the heat mat under his hide


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Ah, so with a heat mat I'd still need an overhead bulb? If that's the case I think I'll just stick with bulbs.

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Originally Posted by Monty44

My room ranges from 68-74°F. I live in New York so it's either really cold or really hot outside. Have any links to a radiant heat panel you think would be best?
I'm sticking with glass tanks for now. When I get more bps I plan on getting a rack system to save space.

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Any RHP for the most part is going to be too big for a 20 gallon glass tank. Check out reptile basics or pro products. You'll have to email Bob at pro products to get the specs on what panel he'd recommend, though I'm not sure he would recommend them for glass enclosures. I just figured I'd suggest the AP cage given your budget. It will last way longer and be far more durable and easier to maintain than glass but whatever works best for you and your animals is the best option. I used glass tanks in the past and once I made the switch to pvc enclosures the difference was like night and day.
With a rack basically your main option for heat is heat tape under the tubs which won't do much for ambient temps. Might want to look into an oil filled radiator to keep the room temps up when you eventually move to a rack set up.


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Yes unless your room temp still stays at least 75*. There's multiple ways of setting up a glass tank I just can't help you with overhead bulbs only. But I would recommend an rhp I see them a lot with little to no complaints. Personally I believe everyone just keeps the temps around 85* give or take but I'm sure someone more experienced with that way of setting up will chime in


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If your planning on spending around $100 on a tank you could easily build a small scale rack plus heat(flex watt) for around 100-150 but still need tstat and ambient temps above 75*? But that will depend on if you want more later and if you want them for "display animals" also


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Originally Posted by jmcrook

I used glass tanks in the past and once I made the switch to pvc enclosures the difference was like night and day.
With a rack basically your main option for heat is heat tape under the tubs which won't do much for ambient temps.

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I wasn't exactly sure what a PVC enclosure was so I just look it up. I think they actually look pretty cool and I'd love to get them but I've never seen any for sale. PVCcages.com has some cool looking ones but the tanks themselves are a couple hundred dollars.

They do look bada$$! lol I just can't justify spending so much on one or two animals when I know I'll succumb to the addiction at some point lol


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Originally Posted by Monty44

I wasn't exactly sure what a PVC enclosure was so I just look it up. I think they actually look pretty cool and I'd love to get them but I've never seen any for sale. PVCcages.com has some cool looking ones but the tanks themselves are a couple hundred dollars.

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Check out apcages.com. Sure, still going to be about $200 after shipping for a T8 4'x2'x1' but they're leaps and bounds above glass tanks imo. But as stated, whatever works best for you and your animals is what works.


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I spent about $250 on a large Exo-Terra tank and lamp.

I sure wish I had put that money into a plastic cage, but I didn't know that they even existed at the time. Had I known, I would have waited and saved more money to do it right by getting a Herpstat and Flexwatt and or an RHP as well.

Now, you have no excuse. :D

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Originally Posted by jmcrook

Check out apcages.com. Sure, still going to be about $200 after shipping for a T8 4'x2'x1' but they're leaps and bounds above glass tanks imo. But as stated, whatever works best for you and your animals is what works.

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That's not too bad. Can you tell me anything about how they work? I can't seem to find much info about them on here and the apcages website kinda sucks.
I see lights in this picture I found of them but idk where it is coming from. Is there a special bulb I need that fits into the top of the tank?

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...psjl1xgken.jpg

Those are led lights. You can get them installed by AP, but you can only choose one of three colors offered, white,red, and ?

What others and myself did was buy a multicolored LED strip from Amazon or elsewhere and install ourselves. Now if you ask, AP will cut a channel for your lights if you don't choose theirs.

The LED strips that I have are remote controlled. I like the flexibility of choosing my colors. For cleaning I use white. If I'm checking in on the snakes at night I choose red so as not to disturb them. And sometimes I just goof around with blues, greens, etc.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...868e80931f.jpg

The LEDs were $20-25

Wow, that's really cool. I'm guessing those rooms are kept pretty warm then. I plan on keeping my balls in the same room that I live in so idk if I can get a T8 without overhead bulbs.
I really like your setup.

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Originally Posted by Monty44

Wow, that's really cool. I'm guessing those rooms are kept pretty warm then. I plan on keeping my balls in the same room that I live in so idk if I can get a T8 without overhead bulbs.
I really like your setup.

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Actually I keep the vent to that room closed and the door closed too. Now the heat generated from 7 enclosures keeps the room in the low 70s in the winter. In the summer it runs in the lower 80s with the ceiling fan on.

Forget about bulbs, get an RHP to heat your T8. I think a 40 watt is like $80.

Don't they have a cutout option from apcages reinz? That way you have a space to put bulbs or rhps etc?


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Heat bulbs are really a pain in the butt and kind of risky. There's a lot of different places making pvc type cages and a rhp would heat one perfectly and be a lot less hassle, lighter, easier to clean and better sized for a snake vs a fish tank. Most of us started with a glass tank setup and swapped to pvc or racks, big box pet stores aren't really good places to pick up anything decent for most animals ime and sell outdated equipment that's overpriced anyways.

RHP gets mounted inside the cage and acts like a panel shaped ceramic heat emitter essentially. No screen top means heat doesn't rise out as quickly and heats the cage more effectively than a bulb. Once you go that route you'll wonder why you ever did it differently before. Check out the "how to set up a pvc cage" thread on here using the AP T8. Very informative and useful thread. Long but give it a good read and you'll find answers to nearly every question you can think of regarding pvc cages


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Originally Posted by BBotteron

Don't they have a cutout option from apcages reinz? That way you have a space to put bulbs or rhps etc?


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They have a screened cut out option for lamps. One of the great benefits of going plastic is to get better humidity control and away from humidity sucking lamps.

The RHP mounts on the ceiling, inside of the cage. Thus no cutouts needed or wanted.

Also by going RHP over lamps, you can stack your cages. It's the only way to go. :)

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Also by going RHP over lamps, you can stack your cages. It's the only way to go. :)

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Neat. Could the T8 support a glass tank on top of it instead of another T8?

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Originally Posted by Monty44

Neat. Could the T8 support a glass tank on top of it instead of another T8?

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I don't see why not. They're super sturdy built cages. I've had mine set up since June stacked two high and love them.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reinz

Those are led lights. You can get them installed by AP, but you can only choose one of three colors offered, white,red, and ?

What others and myself did was buy a multicolored LED strip from Amazon or elsewhere and install ourselves. Now if you ask, AP will cut a channel for your lights if you don't choose theirs.
The LED strips that I have are remote controlled. I like the flexibility of choosing my colors. For cleaning I use white. If I'm checking in on the snakes at night I choose red so as not to disturb them. And sometimes I just goof around with blues, greens, et.

The LEDs were $20-25

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Do you think you can send me a link to the ones your purchased? There seem to be a lot of mixed reviews on the ones I could find.
Do I just send them an email asking them to cut a channel for LED strips? The LEDs won't get in the way if I want to use a divider, will they?
Sorry to bother you lol. I just want to get things right the first time around.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Monty44

Do you think you can send me a link to the ones your purchased? There seem to be a lot of mixed reviews on the ones I could find.
Do I just send them an email asking them to cut a channel for LED strips? The LEDs won't get in the way if I want to use a divider, will they?
Sorry to bother you lol. I just want to get things right the first time around.

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Do an eBay search for 3528 waterproof LED strip. 3528 refers to the dimensions of the individual light chips in millimeters (3.5x2.8) and equates to an 8mm wide strip total which is the size channel AP cuts for the lights. Like Reinz I use the color changing remote operated ones so I can view the snakes at night using red lighting without disturbing them too much and white light in the day or for cleaning. And yeah, either email them or call to place your order and they'll get you squared away no problem. Ali is great to work with and has definitely secured my future business. LEDs will sit recessed into the ceiling of the cage and the divider with pop into place with no issue. I did the same thing with one of my T8s. They'll also install an RHP and cut a recessed channel for the cord so you can stack the cages without pinching any cables. I've got a couple pics in my gallery and there's a bunch in this thread.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-With-Pictures!
I read over this whole thing a couple times before settling on my cages and I like them a lot.


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