Quote Originally Posted by lord jackel
I like you started out with a non-proportional thermostat on went with the Ranco. It was well made, easy to use and lasted for 2 years (before I upgraded to a Helix) and now is my back-up unit...so my opinion is for the Ranco (just because I have experience with it)

From memory a 45 gal is about 36 inch in legth? So a 1' piece of 11" should cover 1/3 of the tank bottom. I would recommend you buy 2' to cover 66% of the tank bottom at worst case you can cut a foot off if it raises the temp too much...but you can't easily add more if it isn't enough (without more wiring)

Yes you will need foil tape to attach the flex to the underside of the tank. Rich has it or you can go to Wal-Mart and buy if for about $6 a rool. In fact I got 2 rolls yesterday for $1 on clearance.

Hope this helps.
Okay so I will get foil tape at wallie world. Should I really cover over half of my tank with flexwatt and keep it at 92? I thought it was just one third of the tank that was kept "warm"