AP T8 Flexwatt heating idea. Opinions and or advice?

[Herpenthusiast3]

So I have a Animal Plastics T8 enclosure, and I ordered 3 feet of 4" Flexwatt, 1 foot of 11" Flexwatt and a Herpstat 2. The idea I have in mind is to use the 11" heat tape as a hot spot and the 4" x 3' strip along the back of the enclosure to help control the ambient temp. I went with the Herpstat 2 so that I could use the separate probes to regulate each strip of Flexwatt separately so as to completely control the gradient. The Flexwatt on the back I will have covered with one sided foil insulator and secured with heat tape to prevent heat loss. Ill also have 2 accurite digital temp/humidity indicator in there. So the question is would it be possible to completely control the gradient by doing this? It sounds great in theory but I would like some experienced opinions as to whether this will work or not. Thanks in advance.

[The Serpent Merchant]

Flexwatt really doesn't do much for ambiants, espicially not through the 1/2" thick PVC walls. It might work in a CB-70 tub where the internal volume is relatively small and the walls are thin, but it isn't going to work in a T8.

[Herpenthusiast3]

The back of the T8 seems quite a bit thinner then the rest of it. :/ What you stated is what I was worried about. Thanks for the response.

[The Serpent Merchant]

The back of the T8 seems quite a bit thinner then the rest of it. :/ What you stated is what I was worried about. Thanks for the response.

The entire cage is made from 1/2" PVC

[The Serpent Merchant]

The best way to control air temps in a T8 is with the optional fluorescent light fixtures. I order all of my cages with 2 of them. by changing the amount of time they are on each day you can gain some control over the air temps.

[Herpenthusiast3]

The entire cage is made from 1/2" PVC

Yeah. I was just reading up on the cage specs on the AP site right before I read your reply. Lol. Well that's a bummer. If I really think about it even if it was substantially thinner it still probably wouldn't help with gradient temps huh? I thought the one sided foil insulator covering the heat tape might help. Never know if you don't ask. Thanks
Again.

[Herpenthusiast3]

The best way to control air temps in a T8 is with the optional fluorescent light fixtures. I order all of my cages with 2 of them. by changing the amount of time they are on each day you can gain some control over the air temps.

There is already one fluorescent light installed so I guess that will help a bit.

[Herpenthusiast3]

For the sake of info. I have the fluorescent light fixture but I also attached a 11x12 inch piece of Flexwatt for my hotspot and it works perfectly. I keep the room heated with a portable heater to help keep up the ambient temps throughout since it's winter but I use the Flexwatt to provide a good hotspot. Since the enclosure is thick I have to set the Herpstat slightly higher to reach my attempted hotspot and so far it has worked perfectly. I have 2 accurite thermometers in the enclosure to make sure the ambient temp, humidity and hotspot stay at the appropriate ranges and for the first couple of weeks checked the hi and lows on each to make sure everything was working properly. I leave the displayed temp on the Herpstat unchanged although I could have matched the hotspot and the Herpstat display I figured it better to leave it so that can always make a quick reference as to the exact temp of the Flexwatt itself. Temps and everything have held perfectly for me though. I really want to put up a pic but since it's my girlfriends setup Ill let her do it since I know she's looking forward to showing off her new baby_______(<--- her secret to share/ my anniversary present to her) and the enclosure itself.
I'm definitely a little late on this post but I thought it fairly important to give an update since I began to think that it wasn't possible an it turned out to be pretty easy to setup. <hope this post finds you all well >