Odd Shaped 40g heating

[Ginger]

Hi All,

I am VERY confused to what I should use as a heating source, as I now have confirmed that I need one, especially because I have air-conditioning in my home that is zoned, not individual so I cannot turn it off in the room they are in. Also, cost is a bit of an issue and buying off the internet is avoided (unless it is pick-up in a local area). My tank is 40g, with 6 inches of coco-fiber/sand mix at the base. Measurements of tank as follows;

Height: 56cm Width (across front): 60cm Depth (back to front): 45cm

UTH: I'm not sure of the size I need, where it should be located (would it burn the wood cabinet if placed underneath?) and I don't know whether it would effectively heat the air in the tank and it may dry out the substrate too much.

CHE: Again, not sure of the sizing, would it dry out the air, especially combined with air con? Because the tank is quite tall, I do not know if the heat would be a gradient like it should be - it may disperse too much...

Thanks in advance for the help hopefully to be received!
Ginger.

[aussieJJDude]

So you're got around 56 x 45cm/45x45cm of UTH space depending on where you put it. You want to place it on the side of the tank, above the substrate line. Which side of the tank? Up to you, back wall is usually recommended.
If the sand is kept at sand castle consistency, there shouldn't be any problems with dried out substrate. At most, the top inch or so of the sand will be dry-er, but near the bottom should be around sand castle consistency.
CHE are really good at providing heat but like you mentioned, it can dry out the tank. If you have a moving water course or some moss, the humidity should stay fine.

[Ginger]

Thank-you Aussie! Ok, so some questions relating to your post...

1. If I was to put the UTH on the back wall, do you think it would affect a resin background that's there? (A bit of an out-there question, don't worry too much about it!)
2. What size would I need to get to effectively heat the tank? (UTH)

[aussieJJDude]

1. I'm not a 100% sure, as I never used a background... However, i imagine that some of the heat will be lost or trapped between the background and the side of the tank.
2. I say that a UTH that covers most/all of the side of the tank above the substrate line will keep it around 27c or more, depending on whether you insulate or not...

[ladybug15057]

Covering the UTH can cause it to over heat and become a fire hazard. Why when using an UTH one should use blocks, lego's, etc. to hold the tank up off of the UTH and its cord. A uth on the side isn't much good either. Heat rises and the hermies would need to pile on each other to get any benefit from the heat.

[appps]

I was using two uth on the sides to heat the spare isolation tank, and it seemed to do a pretty good job during the day but at night it struggled. I ended up having to put some cardboard around itand on the top to help insulate and keep the warmth in. Which just became part of our bedtime routine cover bird, cover crabs

[Ginger]

Thanks for all the input, Ladybug, my tank has feet on each corner, putting it up off the cabinet about an inch, however I still don't think I woud be game enough to put it under due to moultinng crabs, the heat not getting through to the air, the fire hazard etc. Thank-you for the pointer that the heat would rise if on the side of the tank, I did not think of that... So maybe a CHE would be better for my tank... I have a fixture holding a 10 watt night-glo bulb that does heat things up a bit, so I will see if I can screw a CHE into it, and if it will be hot enough. Thanks again, Ginger.

[aussieJJDude]

Covering the UTH can cause it to over heat and become a fire hazard. Why when using an UTH one should use blocks, lego's, etc. to hold the tank up off of the UTH and its cord. A uth on the side isn't much good either. Heat rises and the hermies would need to pile on each other to get any benefit from the heat.

Lady, putting the UTH underneath the tank won't do the hermies much good. Many of the more experienced crabbers I talked to show the benefits of having the UTH on the side and think/know that placing a UTH on the side and insulating it has less risks envolved then putting it underneath.
Oh well, I can't change your option. Each way work differently for everyone, but I prefer using the method used successfully by most.

[appps]

I have a fixture holding a 10 watt night-glo bulb that does heat things up a bit, so I will see if I can screw a CHE into it, and if it will be hot enough. Thanks again, Ginger.

Before you do just have a quick look and check it's a ceramic fixture. If it's only a regular plastic one the CHE could melt it and be a fire hazard.

[ladybug15057]

Lady, putting the UTH underneath the tank won't do the hermies much good. Many of the more experienced crabbers I talked to

I agree different methods work for different crabbers in different environments and I do keep an open mind. There is not one method that is 100% full proof. (Example CrabWorks damp substrate to my total dry substrate method who also uses an UTH under her tank for 37+ years) What I am sharing is through going on 15 years of very successful crabbing experience and still crabbing with over 93% of our original hermies. I'm not exactly a newbie crabber either Aussie.