Thanks for all the help! i do have a heating pad but i put it on the side rather than the bottom, my friend had one on the bottom and it almost caused a house fire (the tank will be on a flat level surface and i dont want to worry about the elevation needed to put the pad on the bottom). The heating pad is in a corner and the light is a bit of set on top over the same side as the heat pad to try and make warm/cooler sides of the tank. Im keeping the heating pad on 24/7 as well.

Is there a certain watt infrared that you would suggest for a 24/7 source?