Quote Originally Posted by Starscream View Post
Bought a T5HO 22" light strip and UV bulb, some heat tape, and a RHP for when I upgrade Mazikeen into an IRIS Christmas tub. I'm also wanting to test the RHP and heat tape on the tub size she currently has, because if I can turn down the heat in the house while still keeping her temps up, I'm definitely doing it. Their site suggested the 80watt for temps below 74F -- which it does get in winter, to my chagrin, so we'll see how this goes!

Thank goodness for tall tubs, otherwise this probably wouldn't be possible lol. I'm just so excited to test things that I have to say something!

Now to pick up some branches. I'm sick of looking at PVC pipe :/.
I like those tubs, but I have never considered doing a complete setup because I thought I would get annoyed taking the lid on and off, but I am interested to see how this turns out. The bulb will actually add a notable amount of heat to the setup in my experience. I haven't tried it on a tub, but in a glass setup it usually adds 2-3 degrees F or so.

I know the general recommendation on these forums is a minimum temperature of ~ 77 F, but if you can keep it above or at 74 or so, you should be fine. This is the beauty of a heat gradient and if you look at temperatures from (for example) Ghana you see that the average low across season is around 76-77, but does get down to 74 sometimes. You have both heat tape and a RHP, which gives you a great deal of control over the temperatures, so it may be a non-issue for you to get the temperatures you want.