HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Hey everyone!

I've been watching my 75 gallon... Closely. No joke, I have barely left the room.. Yikes!

I've noticed my temp overnight stayed at 75 degrees, yay! But, I'd like to maybe get an Ultratherm to raise it just a couple of degrees during the day. I like it to hit anywhere between 78-82.. That's when I find my crabs are most active/healthy.

I'm toying with the idea of adding the Ultratherm to the side of the tank.. Thoughts/ideas/inspiration?

If you have one, do you love it/hate it for any particular reason?

Thanks guys!

Jeff

They haven't personally worked for me, but I am not the one to spread false information and most people had great success with it. You would want to put it at the back of your tank, and the size of the Ultratherm should roughly be the size of the back of your tank. You can insulate Ultratherms, but if you choose other heat pads, you CANNOT insulate them, or they might catch a fire.

On a tank that size, one side is not going to offer much in the way of heat. If you are going for a gradient, keep in mind that there will be a pretty substantial one from front to back if you do go with a UTH on the back.

Hi Jeff! Since you live close to me, I would recommend you do what I have done. I purchase Ultratherms for the backs of my tanks. I get them 1/2 of the length of the back of the tank so that the pools do not get heated, and then 1/2 of the height of the tank. I love www.reptilebasics.com but www.beanfarm.com is good too. During our winter I insulate with Reflectix insulation when necessary - which is reusable. I have all of my crabitats in one room - and the room stays around 80 though. Hope that helps!

A side UTH sounds like a great idea...

It sounds to me like you wanting a day and night cycle, have you thought about doing so - aka using a timer or thermostat...

The only bad thing about putting a UTH on the side is it can disrupt your veiw.

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I'm not too worried about the view. I'm thinking I'll set it up on the left side of the tank, to have a warmer side and a cooler side.

The thermostat plug is on my wish list. Next pay day I'll tackle this project!

JeffCrab wrote:I'm not too worried about the view. I'm thinking I'll set it up on the left side of the tank, to have a warmer side and a cooler side.

The thermostat plug is on my wish list. Next pay day I'll tackle this project!

I will add, this is in conjunction to one placed along the back - which i assumed you already had and just wanted supplemental heating.

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I actually don’t have one on the back right now. The tank has been running steady today at 77... I don’t think I want one along the entire back, which is why I’m going to toy with the idea on putting one on the side for now


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JeffCrab wrote:I actually don’t have one on the back right now. The tank has been running steady today at 77... I don’t think I want one along the entire back, which is why I’m going to toy with the idea on putting one on the side for now


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Even though you live in a warmer area - since GB mentioned your in the same neck of the woods - you may need a bit more 'oomph' just in case you need it for cooler nights - its better to overheat than underheat... you can always 'take away' but its very difficult to add without buying another one.

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I was coming here to ask about this. I have just upgraded from a 10 gallon tank to a 29 gallon tank for our two hermit crabs. The old tank used an incandescent bulb that kept the tank around 78-80 degrees. But this new one came with an LED light on the hood which obviously provides nothing in the way of heating. My humidity level is great but I'm not thrilled with the temp.I got two Zoo Med UTH heating pads (only thing available in store) and have one along the back and one along the side. But even with that, the tank is only around 75 degrees.

I've read all kinds of good things about Ultratherm but I don't want to buy a third heater if I can help it. Incidentally I'm also in central FL so really cool nights are few and far between. Is it really necessary to buy another heater? Or can anyone tell me if they've had success in retrofitting a hood with a light that also provides heat? We've had our hermit crabs since March but I'm still not an expert at all this stuff.