New tile is cold

[jacqueline]

I recently put in tile for Ozzy’s tank and I thought it was going great until today. I just noticed that when I touch the tile at night it’s really cold - normal air temp ~74 at night. Is this normal and if not how can I fix it? Thanks,
-j

 

[acpart]

Do you have an under tank heater? Is it working? what kind of enclosure do you have? Assuming the heater is working, sometimes the way the tiles get laid there is an air gap between the bottom of the tiles and whatever they're resting on. That can affect the tile temperature. If that's the case, you can fill in between the bottom of the tiles and the bottom of the enclosure with sand (which will be completely hidden under the tiles).

I also notice you're talking about a 74 degree air temperature. Are you actually measuring the tile temp? Are you sure that the temperature on the tile is 74? It would be good to have a little more information about that.

Aliza

 

[jacqueline]

That might be the issue - I have sand around the sides to fill in gaps but didn’t put any under the whole thing.

He’s in a 29 gallon tank, heating pad is working and the hot side is 85F while the cool side is 69F, should I just add sand to the bottom then?

 

[acpart]

So you want the hot side to get a bit warmer, is that the issue? Does the heating pad have a thermostat connected to it?

Aliza

 

[GeckoFanboy]

You need a thermostat, but even without one your heating pad isn't working properly if your hot side is only topping out at 85°. Normally, without a thermostat it would go higher. Your "floor" temp in his warm hide should be between 88-92°. Is your tank in a cool area? Is it near a window (it shouldn't be)?

I have 1/4" ceramic tile sitting on the glass tank bottom (no sand or paper towels under it), and I can get my temps on the warm side of the ceramic covered tank floor to fluctuate between 88-92° with no problem. Something isn't right with your setup. It could be your UTH pad. Have you ever peeled it off before? That can damage it.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

That might be the issue - I have sand around the sides to fill in gaps but didn’t put any under the whole thing.

He’s in a 29 gallon tank, heating pad is working and the hot side is 85F while the cool side is 69F, should I just add sand to the bottom then?

Are these temps ground or air temps? What type thermometer do you use?

What are the dimensions of your heat mat? It may be too small.