I am in need of advise

[jdauby09]

I am looking into getting a heating pad for a new tank we r setting up. It is a tall 55 gal and I am clueless to the type of pad to get...I was told under tank heaters are not the best solution and I would like to stay away from heat lamps...I did see on ebay they have reptile incubator heating pads...is that what I need?

[jdauby09]

I took a screen shot of it but I cannot figure out how to add the pic to my post

[daws409]

Tapatalk app on smartphone or tablet to upload pics.... Ultratherm from reptile basics or bean farm. You'll need a 6x48 or 11x48 for a 55 gal.

Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

[jdauby09]

This is what I found

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[jdauby09]

Is this the same concept?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Hermias_mom]

Is this the same concept?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

That is the right concept, but I don't know about that particular manufacturer. For crabbing, it is best to get an under tank heater from the manufacturer Ultratherm. Reason is, the other brands don't work nearly as well (if at all) and can't be insulated. In the winter for sure, and sometimes year-round depending on your house conditions, you will want to insulate - even Florida crabbers have to insulate some, and with the Ultratherm we can insulate as much as we need to and don't have to worry about starting a fire. Ultratherms are a bit pricey, but SO worth it. Folks have tried a lot of other UTHs, and most of them were just a waste of money.

Ultratherms are sold from BeanFarm and Reptilebasics.com. I struggled with a ZooMed and an All LIving Things UTH for a while, and it was SO much better with the Ultratherm. I would suggest also getting a thermostat with it, my thermostat by Zilla works well. Goal temp and humidity is 80F / 80% Relative Humidity.

Also, don't know if you've come across this info yet, but the UTH should be mounted on the back wall (long side) of your crabitat, ABOVE the level of your substrate. The goal is to heat the air in the crabitat, which will eventually warm up the substrate. Minimum substrate depth is 6" or 3 times the height of your largest crab, whichever is deeper, mixed to sandcastle consistency with dechlorinated marine saltwater. Check out the Crabitat Conditions forum if you haven't yet - there's loads of great info on there: http://hermitcrabassociation.com/phpBB/ ... m.php?f=26

I'd second Daws recommendation below.

Ultratherm from reptile basics or bean farm. You'll need a 6x48 or 11x48 for a 55 gal.

Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

[jdauby09]

What do you mean insulating...the heating pad?...where we r gonna out the tank it is above a register vent with an open stand plus we also have a fireplace in that room...I currently have them in a 25 gal tank with no heater and I can keep it around 70 to 75 without the heat on in the house...I know that isn't as warm as they need so I am looking for a heater but cost is a big factor...

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Hermias_mom]

What do you mean insulating...the heating pad?...where we r gonna out the tank it is above a register vent with an open stand plus we also have a fireplace in that room...I currently have them in a 25 gal tank with no heater and I can keep it around 70 to 75 without the heat on in the house...I know that isn't as warm as they need so I am looking for a heater but cost is a big factor...

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Well, it's your choice of course. If you want to buy the UTH you just posted a picture of, it might work, or it might not. I wish you all the luck in the world and hope it does, for your sake. I just noticed it was 7 Watts. I'd at least recommend buying a 25-30 Watt one. You can use a dimmer switch from the hardware store to turn it down if it gets too hot (which I doubt it will, but hopefully I'll be wrong ), or a thermostat to keep it at a stable temperature. What I do know, is that Ultratherms work. From the users who've posted on this forum over many years, the general consensus is that most other UTHs pretty much don't, or they too would be recommended products. Only you can adequately judge your situation and do what you feel best. PPs really do need 80F / 80% humidity for their modified gills to work and for them to be more active and interesting as pets. At 75F or lower, they are at risk of trying to hibernate because they're cold, which could lead to death. As long as you obtain 80F / 80%RH somehow, I don't think it matters too much how you get there.

When I talk about insulating, what I mean is using carboard or styrofoam covered in aluminum foil and/or Reflectix layered on top of the Ultratherm. So your layering would go insulation - Ultratherm - tank wall - crabs. It helps direct heat into the tank and is particularly needed in the winter time, but I use insulation year-round because I keep my house at 72-74F and don't have a fireplace. Some of the crabbers in Florida (USA) only insulate in the wintertime.

Another thought for you - do you have a temperature/humidity gage that sits inside your crabitat at the level of your substrate? Is it calibrated? There's a thread on the forum about calibrating your humidity gage. Many crabbers use the following, which is $7-8 at Walmart. https://www.walmart.com/ip/AcuRite-Digi ... r/16888914 Mine was pretty accurate straight out of the box, and it gives you a 24 hr readout on crabitat temp/humidity. If the gage reads 99%, the gage is oversaturated, and the reading is not accurate - I had that happen for the button shaped reptile digital gages I used before the Acurite one.

[RebsCritters]

Have you thought about ceramic heat emitters? I have no idea about the price right now, but dunno if you know that's an option.

A friend gave me that same little heat mat as the picture you posted, which I have for my 15 gal. It works but not very well, and I highly doubt if it's suitable as an incubator..

For a 55 gallon this heat mat would be inadequate. The glass on the larger tanks is much thicker so not as much heat will make its way through/will take much longer to heat up.
Another​ important thing to keep in mind is surface area. UTHs are designed to cover a certain amount of area and will give the best results when the size is closer to that of the tank, depending on how much heat you'd like to provide.

(Basically, what everyone else has already said here lol. )

[daws409]

Have you thought about ceramic heat emitters?

I personally wouldn't use these. These tend to be hotter than regular heat lamps and if placed directly on glass, they have been known to shatter it.



Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

[daws409]

I also wouldn't use the heater you have pictured. I don't know if they can be insulated. Some heating products can be a fire hazard when insulated. The ultratherms from reptile basics or bean farm can be insulated without the fire risk

Sent from my HTC6515LVW using Tapatalk

[RebsCritters]

I personally wouldn't use these. These tend to be hotter than regular heat lamps and if placed directly on glass, they have been known to shatter it.

It's a bad idea to have any strong heat source directly on glass, for this exact reason. Glass does not like sudden changes in temp..
There are ways to work around that particular issue by modifying the lid but I guess that depends on how much time/money OP reasonably has to spare, so I guess that's a moot point here.
People do use them with some success though.

[PinchersAndShells]

It's a bad idea to have any strong heat source directly on glass, for this exact reason. Glass does not like sudden changes in temp..
There are ways to work around that particular issue by modifying the lid but I guess that depends on how much time/money OP reasonably has to spare, so I guess that's a moot point here.
People do use them with some success though.

True, but in my experience the people who typically get away with them have rather large crabitats.

[jdauby09]

Ok if I bite the bullet and get the ultratherm one could I get by with not having a thermostat? I currently don't have a lid for the tank so we r probably gonna put a mesh lid on or plexiglass with holes drilled in. The thermometer/hydrometer is the one from zoomed. I have no idea if it is accurate or how to calibrate it. We plan on doing quikrete play sand with the red and green fence and some EE. I also have a humidifier hooked up to it and we r gonna to a bubble pool for both saltwater and freshwater to help with humidity.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[jdauby09]

Withe the bubble pools will I still need to spray the tank down if it keeps up with the humidity needed

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk