flexwatt for just a few tubs without rack necessary

I only have two ball pythons at the moment and its been hard for me to obtain a high enough temperature and humidity and I thought tubs would be the way to go.. I currently have my snakes in a 55 gal aquarium that is divided in two for them both, im usually a special 150watt reptile basking light bulb and have a large heating mat underneath in the middle of the tank that way a little less than half of each side has a warm spot.. I bought a 41qt sterlite tub for my 1200gram male and a 32qt for my 450gram ball, should these be a good size you think? Well my major concern is if it will work okay without a rack with flexwatt. I need to know if it would be okay to stack them with the flexwatt on the bottom, i wont do that if i shouldnt I just thought that it would help get more heat to the larger one with the smaller one on top and also what surface would be good to put the tubs with the flexwatt underneath on? I do plan on making a rack soon but not just yet, or at least until warmer weather comes so i can have it in a different area. are help? tips? thanks! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BaLLPAddICT

I only have two ball pythons at the moment and its been hard for me to obtain a high enough temperature and humidity and I thought tubs would be the way to go.. I currently have my snakes in a 55 gal aquarium that is divided in two for them both, im usually a special 150watt reptile basking light bulb and have a large heating mat underneath in the middle of the tank that way a little less than half of each side has a warm spot.. I bought a 41qt sterlite tub for my 1200gram male and a 32qt for my 450gram ball, should these be a good size you think? Well my major concern is if it will work okay without a rack with flexwatt. I need to know if it would be okay to stack them with the flexwatt on the bottom, i wont do that if i shouldnt I just thought that it would help get more heat to the larger one with the smaller one on top and also what surface would be good to put the tubs with the flexwatt underneath on? I do plan on making a rack soon but not just yet, or at least until warmer weather comes so i can have it in a different area. are help? tips? thanks! :)

---

Don't stack, the one on the bottom will get hotter

I stack with no problems with overheating in the bottom one.


These are 41 quart tubs, using a 1 foot section of 11" flexwatt each, all three controlled by one Ranco thermostat. I've had this particular set-up in the bedroom for well over a year with no problems.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...Tub/Setup3.jpg

Where is the probe? That seems kind of weird that the bottom one would not get to be a problem. I know heat rises but you would think the plastic would stay warm enough to raise the temps up

The thermostat probe is between the tub and the flexwatt on the top tub. Since all three tubs are set up identically, they can be controlled by the one thermostat. They all maintain the same temps and have for well over a year.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rabernet

The thermostat probe is between the tub and the flexwatt on the top tub. Since all three tubs are set up identically, they can be controlled by the one thermostat. They all maintain the same temps and have for well over a year.

---

Are you sure? Have you double checked with a temp gun? The top tub on my 10 high rack is 6 degrees warmer than the bottom tub. All tubs are identical and controlled by a thermostat but heat rises so the top tubs end up being slightly warmer even though the probe is placed on the bottom and set to a specific temperature.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BaLLPAddICT

I only have two ball pythons at the moment and its been hard for me to obtain a high enough temperature and humidity and I thought tubs would be the way to go.. I currently have my snakes in a 55 gal aquarium that is divided in two for them both, im usually a special 150watt reptile basking light bulb and have a large heating mat underneath in the middle of the tank that way a little less than half of each side has a warm spot.. I bought a 41qt sterlite tub for my 1200gram male and a 32qt for my 450gram ball, should these be a good size you think? Well my major concern is if it will work okay without a rack with flexwatt. I need to know if it would be okay to stack them with the flexwatt on the bottom, i wont do that if i shouldnt I just thought that it would help get more heat to the larger one with the smaller one on top and also what surface would be good to put the tubs with the flexwatt underneath on? I do plan on making a rack soon but not just yet, or at least until warmer weather comes so i can have it in a different area. are help? tips? thanks! :)

---

Another idea would be to run some 3" Flexwatt along the backside of the fish tank. This would provide some ambient back heat to the tank. This way you would still have a display tank (assume this is why you have a 55 gal in the first place) and not have to deal with setting up a bunch of tubs till you have a rack ready to go.

Just another idea.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SPJ

Are you sure? Have you double checked with a temp gun? The top tub on my 10 high rack is 6 degrees warmer than the bottom tub. All tubs are identical and controlled by a thermostat but heat rises so the top tubs end up being slightly warmer even though the probe is placed on the bottom and set to a specific temperature.

---

No, not with a temp gun, but the AcuRites read the same, even when moved between the tubs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lord jackel

Another idea would be to run some 3" Flexwatt along the backside of the fish tank. This would provide some ambient back heat to the tank. This way you would still have a display tank (assume this is why you have a 55 gal in the first place) and not have to deal with setting up a bunch of tubs till you have a rack ready to go.

Just another idea.

---

Setting up a bunch of tubs? He has two snakes and I would hardly consider that a bunch. It will take all of 3 minutes to set em up

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

Setting up a bunch of tubs? He has two snakes and I would hardly consider that a bunch. It will take all of 3 minutes to set em up

---

What is your point? Is it your definition of bunch that is a problem? He already has a complete setup why make a complete change just to add more heat. When adding flex to his existing setup will work and more then likely look better then stacked tubs.

Just my :2cent:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lord jackel

What is your point? Is it your definition of bunch that is a problem? He already has a complete setup why make a complete change just to add more heat. When adding flex to his existing setup will work and more then likely look better then stacked tubs.

Just my :2cent:

---

Yes the word bunch is what I based my previous post on. Besides, the creater of this thread said he planned on switching to tubs.

Thanks you all for the help. The heating in the tank i have now is good only when i have the light on. It stays anywhere between 82-90 degrees for the ambient temp. When the light is off (at night) it drops down to 75 sometimes below but thats only for the ambient they still have a heat pad which for some reason they usually only use only in a while and are always on their cool sides. I think my heated side might be too warm and the ambient temps not being warm enough and my snakes staying on the cool side which is too cool.. lol i think the tubs will be much easier to deal with and i cant wait until i get a rack set up.

rab how do you connect the flexwatt to the tubs?

I use aluminum plumbing tape. Most of the guys who sell flexwatt also offer it for sale - or you can pick some up at Home Depot in the plumbing section!