Thank you for your input! I'm definitely leaning towards the RHP. I'm not confident about having to install one later if the heat tape doesn't cut it, so I would like to play safe.

Quote Originally Posted by ckuhn003 View Post
I'm curious and a little bit worried about your heat pad overheating the hot spot. Are you using a Thermostat?? If so, I'm not sure how your hot spot is getting any hotter then what you've figured based on your Thermostat setting. For instance, my Tstat in my tub is set to 94 degrees to achieve a surface temp of 88.
Maybe I worded that a bit strangely - I meant that I can't turn up the heat mat any more to try bringing up the ambient temps, without the hot spot getting too hot (I know UTHs aren't effective at ambients, but it's bringing up mine a couple degrees). I'm using a Herpstat with one probe, which is why I'm trying to stick with one heat source