Pacman heating help

[AbranV]

I have some pacmans heating questions, if you don't mind.

Equipment:
10 gallon tank
Zoo Med repti temp 500r thermostat.
Around 3ft of 4 inch, 6 watt heat tape.

I also have a 10-20gallon zoo Med uth, that I can pull off my roaches if needed.


My questions,
1. Does the tank AMBIANT air temp. need to be in the mid/high 70's?
Or just the warm side?

2. Other than adding a hygrotherm, will my equipment be sufficient?

3. I would rather stay away from heat lamps and ceramic emitters. Is this a possibility?

Thanks for all of the help!

[Frogman1031]

The entire tank needs to be 80-83 degrees (f) during the day with a drop to 75-77 at night.

I'm not sure if your equipment will do the trick. Just do what you need to do to keep the temps correct and the humidity between 70-80 %.

Someone with more pac experience will be able to go into more detail *cough*Lija*cough*.

[AbranV]

Thanks. I'm having a hell of a time getting it up to temperature.

I'm starting to think the thermostat may be bad, or I need to get rid of the heat tape and go with a uth.
The other issue is that our house stays fairly cool, low to mid 60's in the winter.

I only need another eight degrees or so and I'm golden

[Lija]

Seriously, why don't you want a heat lamp, the best way to fine tune temps, especially plugged in hydrotherm.
heat mats, tapes need to cover a big space to heat up anything.

[monster]

Hello, I use UTH's and its a pain, but it is possible to hit your temps. And I was always told its ok to have a hot and cold side so he can go were he feels comfortable. MY ten gallon tank goes 83f on the warm 80F in the middle and 78f in the cool and I let it all drop a few degrees at night but never let that cold end go under 75f. If you want to use UTH's your best bet in IMO is to use the 10-20 on the side and put a 30-40 on the back. When putting them on the side I find always go up size or it work so good, and the 30-40 wont work on the end of a ten its to big. And I built a box around 3 sides to keep the heat trapped or it just heats the room your sitting in. I have a picture in a thread were someone asked the same question, I will find it and let you know so you can look at it. Oh and I have them hooked to a dimmer that's how I lower at night.
And it is a pain in the butt Lija is right, Im looking to get another baby pacman in a couple weeks and I will be setting this one up with a CHE or lights.

[monster]

The picture is in the terrarium and enclosure part of the forum on the 2nd or 3rd page in a thread titled heating pad started by someone named yoda. The plants and stuff have changed but the UTH's are still set up the same way. Hope it helps, and a hydrotherm will help and save you a lot headaches, I finally took Lijas advice and ordered one the other day.

[Lija]

lol you will love the thing!

[AbranV]

Lija, its not that I'm against using a CHE or heat lamp, its only a preference. I just put a reading lamp with a 50watt bulb over the tank and its warming nicely now. As far as the hydro therm is concerned, it will be in the future. I busted my budget at the expo yesterday, and need a little recovery time.

Monster, I hear you on the box thing. The UTH's seem very inefficient, and a three sided box is a great idea.

As far as electricity is concerned, what is the most efficient way to heat a tank?

Also, why couldn't a strip of heat tape be used along the TOP-INSIDE edge of the tank?

It would be far outside the reach of a pacman, and help heat the air inside. Just a thought.

Thank you both for your help, its greatly appreciated. We picked up an unexpected pacman yesterday, and I thought I'd be ok with all of the equipment I already had.