Thanks for the advice! (rack)

[Lolo76]

Thank you to those who gave me advice on the new rack! I still haven't solved the lid issue (at least not permanently), but everything else is looking great now. I just checked the Acu-rite in Mona's tub, and the temps were 79 & 89, with a humidity of around 58. Perfect! So here's what I did after the last thread, FYI for anyone with similar issues in the future...

- Taped down the flexwatt with vinyl electrical tape (they didn't have aluminum), which I read is just as safe as aluminum. That really helped when sliding the tubs in & out, since I had already bent one before taping them. I just put a strip on each end, and a few small strips on each side.

- Repositioned the herpstat probe to the middle shelf, taped directly to flexwatt with electrical tape; it's right next to the tub, since I couldn't fit it underneath.

- Moved Mona's 41qt to to the top shelf, and put her Acu-rite probe directly over where the flexwatt runs... also put a digital thermometer w/o probe in a lower tub, to measure ambient temps. These are the only two thermometers now, and I have a temp gun to check everyone else.

- Switched from a grounded surge protector to regular extension cord, since I noticed it was causing a difference in the temps (between those in the surge protector & those plugged directly into the herpstat).

- Adjusted herpstat for a few hours, until I reached the target temperatures... took all night, but I found that setting my herpstat at 95F gives me 80/90 in their tubs.

- In order to temporary solve the lid issue, I'm just using furniture sliders to boost two of the larger tubs. I tried coroplast, but it wasn't quite the right thickness, so I'll probably have to get something custom-cut. I can't slide the shelves themselves up or down, since that will mess up the flexwatt openings. Still have lids on the hatchling tubs, since they fit perfectly with them.

Anyway, thanks again for the help! Still working out a few kinks, but it's already worlds better than my old setup...

[Lolo76]

A few pictures of how it looks now... PLEASE comment on anything that looks wrong, since I'm new to this rack stuff.



Not pretty, but it works for now... I'll make everything look nicer when it's fully stabilized.




The probe placement - is that correct?


Mona's tub with the furniture slider, making it fit snugly without a lid...


Also did it with Toby's 28qt


The broken flexwatt (and extra parts)


Still having problems with not spilling their water every time I slide the tubs - hence the condensation around the corner.

[euphuistical]

Really nice job. I wish my hand made rack looked that good hehe.

Grats on a very nice rack. I like the name labels. Very cute.

[bobbittle]

Having the lids on kinda defeats the purpose dontcha think?

Did you not use your tubs when constructing it?

[Lolo76]

Having the lids on kinda defeats the purpose dontcha think?

Did you not use your tubs when constructing it?

LOL... I wish I was that talented, but I didn't construct this rack myself. I bought it pre-fab online (from RacksAndReptiles), and just had to screw everything together when it arrived. He told me it was designed for use with lids, which I didn't think was a big deal at the time - and was desperate just to find one that could hold 3 different tub sizes.

I'm actually a little disappointed with the construction of this rack, since it has a few issues (like the inconsistencies in the shelf heights)... but at this point it would be too much trouble to return, so I'll have to make it work! When my collection gets bigger, I'll just use this one for adults & buy an AP rack for the babies/juvies.

[Lolo76]

Really nice job. I wish my hand made rack looked that good hehe.

Grats on a very nice rack. I like the name labels. Very cute.

Thanks! Although as I just posted, I can't take full credit for this rack... the wood was already cut into size, and I just put everything together.

[h00blah]

LOL i had the same problem with the spilling of water when sliding the tubs back in!!

just lift as u slide them in! keep it lifted til its in, then release softly!