Can you use 2 UTH's?

[anghaha]

We're getting ready to make a rack system finally for our 2 balls & 2 corns. I really like Adriana aka Argentra's simplified version using UTH's...so I think we're gonna use her very informative instructions for building one w/a few tweeks here & there. We will be using 18 x 26 x 15 polycarbonate tubs. They'll be identical almost to the ones Adriana uses, just not the sterilite sort of tubs. She used a 30-40gal UTH on the warm side and a 10-20gal UTH on the cool side. We're in Texas and our house is never really that cold, so we were thinking of not using a UTH on the cool side (they don't have one in their glass tanks now) My question is...can you use 2 10-20gal UTH's butted up to one another or should we spend the money on the quite pricey 30-40gal UTH's. I recently got a great deal on Craigslist for several 10-20gal UTH's for $5ea (yes, they were new). So I'd really like to use 2 of those each per tub if possible so i don't have to spend $35ea on new ones elsewhere.

[JLC]

I don't see any reason why not, so long as your t-stat is set up to allow for multiple plugs. Since you want them to both maintain the same temp, it should be easy to do.

[anghaha]

Hmmmm...well currently each tank has it's own dimmer/rheostat because they're all in different areas of the house, except the corns share a shelving unit. Would it be too much to plug each dimmer into a power strip when we put the whole lot of them into a rack?? Hmmmm...this poses another question to myself...I think each dimmer switch has room for only one plug. Any suggestions from anybody would be great...just trying to keep this project simple & able to use what we have on hand as much as possible.

[Argentra]

Cool, someone is using my plans!!

Ok, now that that is out of my system...

1 - Sure you can use two 10-20g pads. As long as all the pads plugged into one control device are the same wattage, you can use as many as will a) not exceed the wattage max of the controller, and b) as will fit in a plug strip.

2 - I STRONGLY suggest you save up the $80-110 for a good thermostat. I was using dimmers for a while, since they're so cheap, and will Never go back! They are unpredictable and can fail suddenly a lot easier than even the cheapest t-stats. If you just can't get a Johnson ($80) or a Herpstat ($110), then at least get a ZooMed ReptiTemp 500R stat for $25.
The more UTHs you have to run, the harder it will be to keep the dimmer accurate.

I understand FULLY the desire to use what you already have, but sometimes you just have to put out the extra effort for the best results. Good luck with the project!

That rack of mine, BTW, is running great with only the normal 2-3 degree variances from top to bottom. I'll be making another like it with false floors for shorter tubs, since my remaining BPs are all rather small.

[anghaha]

Thanks...& noted about the Tstat...

I have another question about the UTH's. I tried reading and re-reading and RE-READING how you placed the pads under the tubs. I may just be an idiot, but I'm not quite following everything. Did you glue a piece of cork board to the shelf underneath the tub cut the same size as the UTH, then stuck the UTH to the cork board? Do I understand correctly?

[anghaha]

bump!!

[Argentra]

Oh goodness! Sorry I didn't see this till now...

What I did was cut the cork to the size of the UTH and attach it to the UTH with foil tape, which holds up well in high heat. I then attached the cork to the shelf with industrial strength double sided tape.

When I build the second rack, tho, I intend to place strips of cork on the UTHs instead of solid pieces to help the circulation.

Hope that was clearer.

[anghaha]

So, you never actually used the adhesive side of the UTH at all? Did you just leave the backing on the sticky side of the UTH?

[Argentra]

Yep. Leave the backing there. The adhesive they have on there makes it almost impossible to remove the pad once set, so I just don't use it anymore. Having the backing there actually seems to reduce chances for hot spots as well, but that's just a personal observation thus far.

[anghaha]

Alrighty...thanks! Hopefully we'll get this project off the ground soon, and when we do we'll try to take pics of the process to share.