Just like everyone else kind of touched base on, I can't stress the importance of getting something to monitor the temps of the heat pad. At the very least you will need a plug in lamp dimmer ($10.00 at Home Depot) and a tempgun. Some use a digital thermometer, but I just don't trust them for heat pad temps. They are great for ambient temps though. Tempguns.com has a really great model for sale for $35.00, also Home Depot carries them also not sure for how much, as I got the PE-2 from tempguns.com. This is at the very least, a good thermostat is obviously preferred. That Hydrofarm one is okay, I've never used it, there's Johnsons, Ranco, Spyder Robotics Herpstat, and Helix are the popular ones from cheapest to most expensive.