Yeah I just ordered a bunch of great stuff for his new tank set to arrive January 25th. The thermostat in my house is set at 72 at all times and switches on and off to keep it steady. I just discovered the glass panel idea so I ordered those as well. Hopefully they get here soon. My medium sized heat mat is on the hot side of the tank and a very small one is next to it, with no mat on the cool side to provide a heat gradient. I move the thermometer from left to right when I'm doing a full check, at least once every other day, but I'm not sure if both of my thermostats are reliable - the readings between the two vary slightly. You're probably right about the dimmer thing, this is all new to me so the lingo is lost upon me sometimes. I think my issue with heat has been the unlabeled knob on the dimmer - it has no numbers, just a dial and a green light that goes on and off depending on the temp. I've heard a lot about herpstats so that will be my next purchase. Do you have a suggestion about brands/places to purchase IR temp guns? Thank you for your input