First post! First I'd like to say thanks for the great forum and all the awesome info on this site!

I am battling a ten gallon tank setup right now. Just like everyone else, I can't find a happy medium with temps and humidity.

here is my setup
10 gallon glass tank
eco earth bedding
UTH (without thermostat, I know, I have one on the way and have been monitoring religiously with my temp gun)
2 hides one on each side
water bowl in the middle
screen top covered in aluminum foil with 1" gaps on the sides
heat lamp 75 watt over the cool side (hole through foil)

i have been monitoring temps with a stick on temp/humidity gauge and a laser temp gun.

here is my problem. If I keep the heat lamp directly on top of the screen to get the temps right, it drys the tank out an hour after misting with a spray bottle. If I back the light off and aim at an angle, I can keep the humidity at 50-70 percent but the temp falls too low, misting 2-3 times daily. It is not helping that we are having 30 year record low temps right now either....

i have decided to sacrifice humidity tonight in order to keep the temp up, but I'm getting tired of playing this constant adjustment game. I feel like I'm checking and making changes every 10 minutes to keep things in check.

is there a better way? For those of you that have low maintenance set ups, tell me the secret. I'm willing to ditch my current equipment and start over. I have searched and found plenty of threads about setting up aquariums like I have, but not much about the setup the "ideal", low maintenance enclosures.

thanks in advance! Craig