Temps have been dropping here, as well. I just bought a mini space heater from BestBuy for like $20. As for the thermostat, I went with an STC-1000. It's not plug-n-play, though. You have to do some wiring. It's very accurate, it has a probe, an LCD display and you can calibrate if you need to. It's an on/off type of therm, but you can adjust how steady it holds the temp, I have mine set to half a degree. So if it drops more than that, it kicks on. I looked at the 500r and I passed on it because there's no actual temp read out on it. You have to get something like an IR temp gun to see how warm the UTH is getting, and adjust the dial from there. Kind of a hassle. Hope this helps.
Also, I'm using Flex Watt on a plastic tub without issues. Basically the same thing as a heat mat. So you're good.
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