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.