temps, cool side/warm side

right now I only have 1 accurite, so I put the actual unit on the cool side of the tank and the probe underneath the substrate under the hide on the warm side. Cool side reads 76-79 (fluctuates between day/night) and since I dont have a thermostat right now (ordered one, its on the way) I'm having a hard time keeping the warm side from getting too hot. I put a layer of cardboard under the substrate and that seems to help a little bit, but not really enough. When I see the probe temp getting above 93 degrees I just turn the UTH off for a while. Is the cool side too cold:confused:? I'm planning on getting a second UTH once my thermo gets here and just heating the viv with the 2 UTH's, ditching the lights, 'cept for a viewing light. The lights I'm using right now are a 50 watt infrared during the day and a 50 watt blue bulb for night time viewing.
Any suggestions?:weirdface

Your on the right track! Everything sounds good with exception to the UTH which you have got a thermostat on the way for so thats good. If you are concerned about the cool side being too cool, move the lamp over that side and it will warm up the ambient temps, while the UTH will provide the warm belly heat needed under the warm hide.

A second UTH is a great way to go, I have 2 as well. I have one turned off for the summer though because my tank is warm enough with out it in 20 degrees plus weather. When you get the second UTH, if your thermostat can only control one device then you can use a lamp dimmer on the cooler UTH set super-low.

All in all, as long as you get around 90 for the warm side, low 80s for the cool side and humidity 50-60, however you chose to do that (safely lol) is totally up to you.

yeah the thermostat that I purchased can control 2 units so I think two UTH's will be perfect. As for the humidity, I've been keeping the water dish above the uth and have been misting the viv daily.

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

yeah the thermostat that I purchased can control 2 units so I think two UTH's will be perfect. As for the humidity, I've been keeping the water dish above the uth and have been misting the viv daily.

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Awesome. Although I think the 500r you ordered can control two devices, but at the same temp levels. You will need the cool UTH to be set lower than the warm UTH, and I don't think you can do that with that thermostat.

A lamp dimmer will work O.K for a UTH set quite low, the fluctuations are O.K at 80-85 degrees, where as if you used a dimmer on the warm UTH, fluctuations of 90-95 would be a little too high for my comfort level.

thx for the input. Is there a certain kind of lamp dimmer I would need to use? When I went to get the Accurite I looked at some dimmers, but they seem to be the kind that would have to be spliced, at least that what my boyfriend said.

Oh boy~ here I go....
Missi has this tank stuff down to a science and so she is great resource for you.
I am here to attempt to pull you to the dark side!!!! Would you ever consider a reptile cage? I have these: http://www.reptilebasics.com/2x3-Cag...h-p-16286.html
These cages are wired with flex watt and so you just need to get a t'stat. They hold their heat and humidity and they are really just plug and play set-ups. It takes away all of the tinkering and futzing around that you have to do with a tank (take that as a testimony to Missi's fortitude) and they are just really great. This size will fit the royal for their lifetime.
So, whenever I read about people running out all the time to tweak (seemingly forever) with their tanks, I just feel compelled to offer the idea of a true reptile cage :D:gj:

That looks very interesting, Starmom. thank you for showing this to me. Its a little out of my price range for now, but I will definitely be considering one when Shinobi outgrows the tank he is in now. Perhaps if I'd known about it before I purchased the viv I would have gotten that instead:rolleyes: maybe you could post a few pics of your setup?

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

That looks very interesting, Starmom. thank you for showing this to me. Its a little out of my price range for now, but I will definitely be considering one when Shinobi outgrows the tank he is in now. Perhaps if I'd known about it before I purchased the viv I would have gotten that instead:rolleyes: maybe you could post a few pics of your setup?

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I wouldn't go with the 2x3 rbi cage either at this point. Seems way too big for young bp. The mini cage is only $140 and has the same floor space as a 32qt tub. It should take your bp a while to grow out of the mini cage. When I call Rich at RBI about it he said that he has some of his adult males in mini cages but reccommended anything bigger than a 1000 grams or so should go in the 2x3 cages.

My mini cage should arrive today or tomorrow.:)

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

thx for the input. Is there a certain kind of lamp dimmer I would need to use? When I went to get the Accurite I looked at some dimmers, but they seem to be the kind that would have to be spliced, at least that what my boyfriend said.

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The dimmers that I have I purchased at Wal-Mart, and they are called a Table Top Lamp Dimmer. It really is plug'n'play. There is some tweaking involved, and it can get a little frustrating, but they are only $9. It obviously isn't a substitute for a t-stat, but it is a quick cheap fix. They were in the "small electrical" isle of the hardware dept in Wal-Mart.

Yep any piggy-back plug in dimmer will work, but there is a lot of "turn up the dial, turn down the dial" involved, but still better than an uncontrolled UTH. Hardware stores carry them, and wal-mart should have them too.

Starmom, if I could have afforded the reptile cages (and not put money into what I have already), I would be all over them like snot on a tissue! haha. I'm all for plug in and go! I am proud of all the "tinkering" I have done to achieve my as-close-to-perfect set-up so far, but oh man it would have been nice to just plug in one of those and be good to go from the start:)

Oh and when LD out-grows this 15 gal, I will almost definitely be going for something from reptilebasics like that reptile cage!

I too hope to upgrade to something like that. It's going to be awhile until my guy outgrows his 20L tho. I like the stackability (is that a word?) of those cages a lot.. almost enough to expand my collection!

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Originally Posted by sneakerpro

I too hope to upgrade to something like that. It's going to be awhile until my guy outgrows his 20L tho. I like the stackability (is that a word?) of those cages a lot.. almost enough to expand my collection!

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Thats my plan *evil laughter*.

the temp under the substrate on the warm side is reading 95.5 should i turn the uth off or is that ok? I havent seen him burrowing at all so the temp on top of the substrate should be a few degrees cooler right?

I've been considering a rack too.. but i really like the display tanks better.

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

the temp under the substrate on the warm side is reading 95.5 should i turn the uth off or is that ok? I havent seen him burrowing at all so the temp on top of the substrate should be a few degrees cooler right?

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Thats a tough cookie you got there. I want to say turn it off, since you don't want your bp to have any chance of getting burned, but I know you want to keep him warm. Your best bet is to run out and get a lamp dimmer for that second UTH you were thinking about getting now, and plug it in. I hope your thermostat is delivered soon:)

will do.:gj:

Herpstat by Spyder Robotics. Do it. Feel safe.

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Originally Posted by Skoalbasher

Herpstat by Spyder Robotics. Do it. Feel safe.

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I agree. I also trust my ranco though. But the OP has already purchased a 500r;) So thats a good start.

I must have skipped over that part. 500r? That a ranco? My new motorcycle is a 500r

500r is Zilla if im not mistaken.

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Originally Posted by sneakerpro

500r is Zilla if im not mistaken.

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Zoo Med:) But close enough.

Meh, I don't have one so it was kind of a shot in the dark! :D

I just went out and got a dimmer for my uth while I wait for the t-stat. For those of you who were wondering, heres a link to the one I ordered:
http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=75

I don't know if it varies between individual dimmers, but all three of mine are set about as low as they will go without being OFF.

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Originally Posted by sneakerpro

I don't know if it varies between individual dimmers, but all three of mine are set about as low as they will go without being OFF.

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Mine were like that too. Usually I had to turn it up to about half way to get the UTH warmed up, then I turned it down from there. Keep an eye on those temps even with the dimmer TheHabit, it can take up to a few hours before the max temp is reached between adjustments.

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Originally Posted by missi182

Mine were like that too. Usually I had to turn it up to about half way to get the UTH warmed up, then I turned it down from there. Keep an eye on those temps even with the dimmer TheHabit, it can take up to a few hours before the max temp is reached between adjustments.

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Very true, it took more than 36 hours for me to get mine to a point that I felt comfortable with them. Now that I have them about where they need to be I only have to make very few adjustments when the weather is crazy.

yeah I've been keeping an eye on it, I'll keep everyone posted.

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

yeah I've been keeping an eye on it, I'll keep everyone posted.

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Good to hear.

Keep up the good work!!!

how is 89-91 degrees? thats under the substrate on the warm side.

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Originally Posted by TheHabit

how is 89-91 degrees? thats under the substrate on the warm side.

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Sounds good!

awesome:)