My new home-made cage.. How to heat it?

[Hotwire]

Here are a few pics of the cage that I made.

Its the center portion of my Glass TV stand. All the glass is bonded except for the lid, Its held on by suction cups. Around the frame of the top, on the interior I have installed a waterproof RGB LED strip around the entire perimeter. The Lights dont warm up, and are bonded to the frame its self. The dimentions of the cage are 48"L x 16"W x 10"H. On oneside, i have a 12" x 24" section of THG heat tape controlled by an "On/Off" thermostat, Inkbird Brand. The probe is between the heat tape and the bottom glass. At this point I have the thermostat set to allow the hotest spot to be ~85^of.

The problem Im having, and had with the previous enclosure is ambiant air temps. Iv left this over night, and the temp is stable at 77^of on the hot side, and 73^of on the cool side. I need to raise these both by 6^o-8^o. The frame is about 1.25" deep, I have thought about RHP, But Im afraid of burning the animal. as that would only be ~9" from the surface. Am I too worried? They would be controlled as the UTH is now, is a lamp dimmer sufficiant? Im not 100% sold on ANY tank heating technology yet. Even this THG heat tape seems to have hot spots... especialy where the temp probe is bending it... speaking of wich.. whould I put the probe in the tank, or under the heat tape to keep the heat tape as close to the bottom glass as possible?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[M.P.C]

Use a thermometer to dial in the temps and yes you can use a dimmer to controll the uth

[Hotwire]

The UTH is controlled already, Its the RHP that I am wondering about for added ambiant heat. Primarily the safety of the RHP and its proximity to the animal inside the cage.

Just incase anyone is wondering, between the clear glass and the black frame thre is a gap of about 1/8" around the 3 sides, to allow for air flow. Its not a SEALED box. lol.

[Jhill001]

Any worry that the vibration from speakers in the TV might cause undue stress? Either way freaking awesome looking.

[Hotwire]

The fact that the stand is so solid, solid enough to support that old Flat screen (Over 90lbs), Im not any more afraid of vibration from its tiny speakers then I would be having a flimsy glass tank sitting on a book shelf. the broad flat sided of a regular tank would amplify any such vibrations in the air. The walls of the tank I built are only 9" tall, and secured along their entire length. The glass is also 1/4" glass, pretty thick I would think compared to some of the commercialy available tanks with glass opening and sliding doors that would Rattle with any kind of vibration be it sound or just walking past.

My worry is more of HOW TO HEAT THIS BEAST....

- - - Updated - - -

BTW : Thank you, I think it turned out VERY nice. And was surprisingly easy and cheap to put together.

[bondo]

The hot spot is 85 and the air temp on that side is 77? Just making sure I understand you. You can leave your probe where it is but if you put it on the other side of the heat tape you won't bend the tape.

[Hotwire]

The hot spot is 85 and the air temp on that side is 77? Just making sure I understand you. You can leave your probe where it is but if you put it on the other side of the heat tape you won't bend the tape.

That is correct, the surface temp on the hot side, is 85f the ambiant air temp on that side is 77f. The temp probe is currently between the heat tape and glass. so.. there is a gap between the heat tape, and the glass, and where the heat tape is "Tented" from the temp probe the heat tape is at its hotest.

[bondo]

Your ambient temps are good where they are imo. I have never used an on/off thermostat. What temp does it come on at and go off at?

[Hotwire]

The Thermostat is set to turn on when the temp is below 92f and turn off when it hits 96f. This keeps the inside surface temps at what they are. Iv moved the probe to under the heat tape, and the temp fluctuations were pretty wild, it would heat up fast, and rise a degree or 3 above 96 even after shutting off, then it would cool off rapidly. I think this is because it is no longer against the thermal mass of the Glass. its just against the heat tape and air.

I now have the probe between the heat tape and the glass, but close to the end. so that rather then having the centre of heat tape tented, and not having sufficient thermal coupling contact, its at the end, where its still tenting the tape, but only about 5% of the tape, and maintaining a better thermal contact.

[pinheadjas]

If you're looking into RHP's, check out Pro Products. They guarantee that it will not burn your animal to the touch and lifetime guaranteed. They are the same company that makes proventamite. I just bought one for my custom enclosure and it's working nicely, so far.