Best UTH Brand for Tile Floor

[craigrs84]

I'm switching from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon long and from reptile carpet to tile.

My question is which brand and what size UTH would be best for the 20 gallon long tank with tile floor?

I currently have a Zoom Med UTH heater in my 10 gallon tank and don't like the fact that it can't be removed.

I was considering the UltraTherm 11x11 UTH (it seems to have a good reputation) but read somewhere that it only gets to 95 degrees without a thermostat and was wondering if that would be enough power to fully heat the tile (my Zoo Med UTH can reach 105ish without a thermostat). I have a thermostat so I'd rather have slightly too much power than not enough power. I was also hoping to avoid using sand with the tile but I'm open to suggestion. We run our house temperature at about 72 in the summer, maybe a few degrees lower during winter.

Also what's the best way to attach an UltraTherm? Do I need to buy special tape or can I use something more common like duct tape or electrical tape or masking tape.

Thanks.

 

[aterbrock2203]

I have that Ultratherm and it heats up the ceramic tile I use just fine. I attached it with duct tape and it worked great.

 

[craigrs84]

I have that Ultratherm and it heats up the ceramic tile I use just fine. I attached it with duct tape and it worked great.

do you use sand under the tiles? do you think sand is required. thanks.

 

[acpart]

For greatest flexibility, consider the zoo-med heat cable which you can tape down in any configuration and re-do at any time. I can usually find a decently priced one on Ebay.

Aliza

 

[aterbrock2203]

I don't have any sand under mine. Just a layer of paper towel to prevent the tile from scratching the glass.

 

[craigrs84]

i just wanted to follow up -- I bought the ultratherm uth and it is working great. I am using tile without any sand as the substrate. As far as I can tell the ultratherm uth has more than enough power to heat the tiles. I'm keeping the power regulated with a hydrotherm thermostat which is also working very well. my leopard gecko seems very happy and healthy.

 

[katbobs]

Do you also use a light for heat above? If so what kind and what wattage? I was having trouble with the tile heating up also. I have a uth from zoo med... for a 20 gallon tank but it doesn't seem to heat through the tile.

 

[craigrs84]

Do you also use a light for heat above? If so what kind and what wattage? I was having trouble with the tile heating up also. I have a uth from zoo med... for a 20 gallon tank but it doesn't seem to heat through the tile.

I don't use a light from above. I'm only using the Ultratherm UTH as the heat source. The substrate is 6" tile that I bought from Lowes, standard thickness. Probably one of the biggest variables depends on the size of your UTH. I got the 11"x11" size for my 20 gallon tank (actually it's a 30 gallon tank but has the same foot print as a 20 gallon long).

Only the spot directly in the center of the UTH reaches the full 92 degrees. It would probably go slightly beyond 92 degrees but I regulate it with a on-off thermostat so that the temperature fluctuates between 88 - 92 degrees. The edge areas of the UTH are still heated but are cooler than the center area. I've placed the geckos hide directly over the center of the UTH, but it's large enough for him to move off-center if he wants to.

I have also taped a thin layer of styrofoam under the UTH, outside of the tank, between the glass and the table that the tank rests upon. This is what the Ultratherm UTH instructions said to do; I'm not sure how much of an impact this is having. If you try this be sure to raise the tank with bumper feet so that there is still airflow between the thank and the UHT and styrofoam. (well you should be doing this regardless, but just be careful not to start a fire).

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Do you also use a light for heat above? If so what kind and what wattage? I was having trouble with the tile heating up also. I have a uth from zoo med... for a 20 gallon tank but it doesn't seem to heat through the tile.

IF you actually bought the 20 gallon sized UTH, that's too small for a 30 x 12 x12 inch tank (20 gallon LONG tank). Size up for the UTH recommended for a 30-40 gallon tank. Bottomline is that your UTH should measure 1/3rd the length of the tank and as close to the width as possible .

The Bean Farm (online too) in Issaquah, Washington carries the UltraTherm heat mats in about 11 different sizes.

Flexwatt heat tape, as recommended above, is quite flexible.

If you keep this leo in a classroom, you need extra insurance when the heat goes off at night.

 

[katbobs]

Thank you Elizabeth and craigrs84.

I've been working on some solutions to issues. I did a big order at Amazon and I got a thermostat and a ceramic heat emitter so I think that the heat is doing better. I now have a moist hide with sphagnum moss and Scooter likes to hang out in there a lot. She also went through a second shed so I am hoping that is a sign of health. I got a digital thermometer with a probe and I'm going to use that on the floor to check the temp.of the tile there. So I think I'm making progress. Do I need a second thermostat to regulate the UTH too? Seems like a lot of equipment.

I did purchase a bigger UTH (the size for a 30 gallon tank) and I'll try to install it this week. I use the little feet so it isn't resting directly on the shelf. This weekend when I went into school to feed her, I found it a bit cold. So I'm using some aluminum foil on the top hopefully to hold some of the heat in.

I got some vitamins to dust with. However Scooter does not seem to like the dusted crickets. Yesterday I saw her strike at one but then not eat it. That happened twice. Then later I saw her eat an undusted one. Has this ever happened to you? Is it a picky gecko eater?

I think she looks healthy and happy. I'm a happy mom when I see that she has pooped each day. She went home for Thanksgiving with a reptile enthusiast student (really, he knows more about geckos than I do - we have great discussions about substrate and feeding etc. ) so she was nice and warm. I'll take her home over the winter break.

As always thanks for the help.

katbobs and Scooter

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Thank you Elizabeth and craigrs84.

I've been working on some solutions to issues. I did a big order at Amazon and I got a thermostat and a ceramic heat emitter so I think that the heat is doing better. I now have a moist hide with sphagnum moss and Scooter likes to hang out in there a lot. She also went through a second shed so I am hoping that is a sign of health. I got a digital thermometer with a probe and I'm going to use that on the floor to check the temp.of the tile there. So I think I'm making progress. Do I need a second thermostat to regulate the UTH too? Seems like a lot of equipment.

I did purchase a bigger UTH (the size for a 30 gallon tank) and I'll try to install it this week. I use the little feet so it isn't resting directly on the shelf. This weekend when I went into school to feed her, I found it a bit cold. So I'm using some aluminum foil on the top hopefully to hold some of the heat in.

I got some vitamins to dust with. However Scooter does not seem to like the dusted crickets. Yesterday I saw her strike at one but then not eat it. That happened twice. Then later I saw her eat an undusted one. Has this ever happened to you? Is it a picky gecko eater?

I think she looks healthy and happy. I'm a happy mom when I see that she has pooped each day. She went home for Thanksgiving with a reptile enthusiast student (really, he knows more about geckos than I do - we have great discussions about substrate and feeding etc. ) so she was nice and warm. I'll take her home over the winter break.

As always thanks for the help.

katbobs and Scooter

:yahoo: Katbobs & Scooter for all the improvements you have made!

You are welcome for the help.

(I know the equipment feeling.) Did you happen to see Tony Perkins' video about his 4th grade class leo Cleo?

A 2nd thermostat is a great idea! For sure the UTH should be connected to a thermostat. Then it's best to connect the CHE to a thermostat too. Since Scooter mainly lives at school, you may wish to leave the overhead CHE on 24/7 too. As long as Scooter has the recommended differential between the warm end and the cool end he should be fine.

What size dome did you buy?

Just curious on what brand and kind of supplements you purchased?

You are right about leos sometimes not liking the taste of the dusted crickets. Hope that improves. That is one reason why it's also important to feed the crickets a nutritious diet 24/7.