Thanks for all the input! Feel free to ramble.....all info gleaned from other people's experiences are always welcome.
Tried this, seems to be helping......took some tin foil and affixed it to the bottom of the screen so I wouldn't have to look at it (shiny side facing down into tank, of course) over about three quarters.....pretty much left enough room for the light. Took my driftwood piece that I've had on my shelf as decor for about three years (dry!) and got it good and wet. Placed it in the middle of tank half in and half out of the direct light as it shines down. Humidity now holds at around fifty or so for quite a few hours.....better. Still have the small rubbermaid water dish with access hole over half of the UTH. This is keeping the water temp in the bowl at about 78. Too hot? Too cool? Just right? I thought it's probably fine, but can raise or lower the temp by either cutting a peice of turf the same diameter as the bowl and letting it rest on the glass bottom of the tank to make it warmer or slip a few layers of newspaper under turf to make it cooler, or just moving it around-half on half off..........
Here's where I got technical.......
I took a digital theremometer and layed it on the side of the tank with the UTH. Folded turf over tip and took a reading-99.3. A little too hot? I keep the UTH under the cold side to sort of keep the belly warm, but at that temp it's not much of a cold side anymore, is it? Should the cold side be left completey unheated even underneath? If I ditch the bulb and go with heat pads on each side, is there no concern for air temp? I was thinking that a bulb on one side which keeps it about 97 for the toasty side would be good, followed by the water hide in the middle where the UTH begins, followed by a hide area at the unlit end where the floor is kept nice and warm by the last half of the UTH not covered by the water bowl. That's the way it is now, with the driftwood sort of in the middle half in and out of the light's direct beam. The driftwood is also shaped so that it can be climbed on for any basking that may or may not happen, or hid underneath for a shadowy "air warmed" hide.
Temps are holding at: 97 hot lighted side
86 middle of tank
73 cool end with the astroturf floor surface temp of 99
78 water temp
humidity at cool end is 50 and holding nicely
Again thanks for helping a newbie! As I'm sure you can relate, I just want to make sure I'm dottin the I's and crossing the t's.
oh yeah the measurements on the tank are 30 x 19.5 X 13, pythagoras