Using flexwatt with a melamine cage?

[Jake95]

Hey guys, I recently picked up a melamine cage, and I plan on using flexwatt, I know the flexwatt has to be installed inside the enclosure, but I was wondering what I should cover the flexwatt with? If it even needs to be covered?

[Tsanford]

It's never a smart idea to put the flex watt in the cage with the animal. You could router out a recess and put the flex watt, then a layer of acrylic on top to be flush with the rest of the bottom of the cage. Or look into a Radiant Heat Panel (RHP), which would be easier in your case.

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[JoshSloane]

Ive done basically what Tsanford said with some success. I made my enclosure myself, so the way I fashioned it was to have the flexwatt run from inside the tank, under the supporting side walls, and then out to the periphery. I did this to allow my thermostat probe to be in direct contact with the heat tape, but not be in the actual enclosure. I built a false wall around the extruded heat tape and probe. Inside the enclosure I covered the flexwatt with fiber glass, and then used aquarium safe caulk to seal around the edges. I also actually drove a few screws through the acrylic into the melamine as well to hold it in place. I noticed that thicker acrylic works best. Even though the hot spot doesn't get past about 90, I noticed some bubbling when using thin fiber glass.

Honestly in the future I am not going to mess around with this. Seemed like too much potential for error for me. If there is a spilled water bowl, and for some reason the silicone caulk doesn't hold, your whole heating device can be fried. For the money, a RHP seems to work much easier.

[Jake95]

I was thinking about routing a grove in the bottom of the enclosure, that way there can be an air gap also, but I was sure if the flexwatt would burn the exposed particle board. I doubt it would, I just wasn't sure.

[JoshSloane]

Nah its not going to burn anything. Wood burns at hundreds of degrees hotter than what the heat tape can achieve. Make sure to regulate it with a thermostat though.

[Jake95]

Yeah, I figurer it would be fine. I have a ranco thermostat I plan on using