UTH Pad Suggestions

[JettsCrabs]

Currently I have a 10”x20” seedling heat mat on the side of my 45gal tank but it is not creating enough heat to warm the tank. For now I have a heat lamp as well that is helping with keeping consistent heat.

Someone suggested in another forum to just buy a reptile one as they are stronger. The ones at any of the pet stores near me are insanely expensive but the only pad I can find on Amazon (in Canada) is this one:

iPower 8 by 18-Inch 24 Watt Reptile Heat Pad Under Tank Terrarium Heater Heat Mat for Small Animals https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076FK6389/ref ... 87RF1CD5AV

Is it worth the purchase?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CrabbyLover77]

Im not quite sure about that brand. Does your current mat have adhesive on it? If so, you can't remove and re-stick it. If it doesn't, I suggest moving it to the back until you purchase another one. I put a small uth on the side of my old 20 gal and it didn't heat it up much. When I moved it to the back, it heated the entire tank up. You can also insulate your uth to make it more efficient, but only if it isn't padded already.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[curlysister]

Fellow Canadian here, I hear your pain about heat mats. I have a 55 gallon tank, and have one mat on each side and two on the back. Two are crappy Zoo Med ones that can't be insulated over top, and two are better (from Bean Farm). It works for me because the room where I have my tank varies greatly in temperature between seasons (old farm house, in Manitoba, baseboard heat for winter, central a/c in summer but it doesn't reach upstairs where the tank is). Altho I still have insulation over the Bean Farm ones, and a folded up wool blanket on the top, and have to crank up the baseboard heater in extreme cold.
If I had my tank in a room where the temperature was more constant, I would have been much better off just biting the bullet and spending more money on one good one that would go across the back.
That said, I don't know anything about the brand you posted.

[JettsCrabs]

Im not quite sure about that brand. Does your current mat have adhesive on it? If so, you can't remove and re-stick it. If it doesn't, I suggest moving it to the back until you purchase another one. I put a small uth on the side of my old 20 gal and it didn't heat it up much. When I moved it to the back, it heated the entire tank up. You can also insulate your uth to make it more efficient, but only if it isn't padded already.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Yeah it is on the back already. Doesn’t peel and stick since it’s meant for heating trays of plant seedlings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CrabbyLover77]

Aw shucks. Well my suggestion is (for whatever brand you decide to buy) buy the biggest one you can find that will fit your tank, don't go by wattage. Then hook it to a thermostat. You can set the thermostat to a specific temp so it won't overheat the tank. If the uth goes below the substrate line on the back that's ok, it just might dry your sand out quicker.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

Ultratherm brand is most recommended because it puts out a lot of heat and can safely be insulated overtop to reflect more heat back into the tank. Not all brands can be! Some are made to operate at lower temperatures and insulating will lead to overheating, melting and potentially fires. That's not being overdramatic, people have had fires. A friend of mine had a padded uth melt and smoke after just a couple of hours with a stray blanket. The one you pictured looks like it's already padded and those cannot be covered. Ultratherm originally is used as under floor heating, so it's designed a little different. Flukers has pretty much the same design and can be treated the same way, I use mostly Flukers mats myself but I don't need to cover a huge space.

[JettsCrabs]

Ultratherm brand is most recommended because it puts out a lot of heat and can safely be insulated overtop to reflect more heat back into the tank. Not all brands can be! Some are made to operate at lower temperatures and insulating will lead to overheating, melting and potentially fires. That's not being overdramatic, people have had fires. A friend of mine had a padded uth melt and smoke after just a couple of hours with a stray blanket. The one you pictured looks like it's already padded and those cannot be covered. Ultratherm originally is used as under floor heating, so it's designed a little different. Flukers has pretty much the same design and can be treated the same way, I use mostly Flukers mats myself but I don't need to cover a huge space.

I’ve heard that brand name before but when I search it on Amazon I only get the uth I linked above. Not sure where to get that specific mat in Canada.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[curlysister]

Ultratherm UTHs are hard to come by in Canada....I don't want to say impossible because maybe some people have found them, but I haven't LOL.
There is a Fluker's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Flukers-Reptiles- ... B00164PW9S

If you have a local pet store, you could talk to them about what they might be able to order in.

[JettsCrabs]

Ultratherm UTHs are hard to come by in Canada....I don't want to say impossible because maybe some people have found them, but I haven't LOL.
There is a Fluker's available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Flukers-Reptiles- ... B00164PW9S

If you have a local pet store, you could talk to them about what they might be able to order in.

Thank you for the link


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CrabbyLover77]

Do y ou know any other source except Amazon?

For Ultratherms, check online at The Bean Farm and Reptile Basics. I got mine at RB, but I know both sites have been low in stock recently.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[wodesorel]

There's several stores selling them these days, not just those two. Since they all come from the same supplier in the UK though, all the stores have been having shortages.