side mounting UTH heaters

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 9:34 am

I have found UTH heaters are inefficientwhen side mounted. My 30 gal tank has one30-40 gal heater on the side and one in the back. i just recieved a 50-60 gallon heaterand am adding that to the back also. Togetherwith the 30-40 already in the back, this willcover the entire length of the tank. Hopefullythis will give me the 10 degree boost i'm looking for. I also have one more 50-60 galheater i'm placing on the back of my ten galiso tank. This will also cover the entire backof the tank. This may be overkill on such a small tank, but a rheostat will fix that ifnecessary (i have a thermostat on the main tank)we shall see.......

Ren1216 · Post by **Ren1216** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 9:58 am

Yep... precisely why I use lamps and bulbs. I just get a much better result this way. I still have my UTH turned on because I dont want to turn it off and have it re-started by mistake, and cook my crabbies... so maybe its the combined use of both that keeps my temp up. But it certainly drops drmatically when I dont use a heat bulb.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Dec 09, 2005 10:07 am

yeah...in hindsight, i think i would havedone things differently. Now that i've dumpeda small fortune in heating mats, i might aswell go for it! I never had an option forunder tank mounting. My tank is on my kitchen table ( i eat on my couch whilewatching tv) If adding this mat works, i'll be running56 watts on the big tank and 24 on the isohmmm.....how much does a 60 watt light bulbcost....

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:02 am

Is anyone that has a sidemounted UTH for a much larger tank happy with the results as far as substrate temp goes? Bottom mounting isn't an option for me and I really need to address and up the substrate temp. I'm particularly interested in hearing from 30g tank owners but all feedback is appreciated.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:35 am

Ok, my heating problems are solved.I have 30-40 uth and a 50-60 uth on theback, and another 30-40 uth on the sideof my 30 gal terrarium and it works great. I also have a 50-60 uth on my 10 gal (back)iso tank which also keeps temps in the mid70's

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:42 am

One more thing, when buying uth's forlarger tanks, always measure your tankto be sure it will fit. Zoo med heatersare smaller than exo terra brand

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 5:54 am

Wow Crabby, a 50-60 on a 10 only gets it to mid-70s? Is it warming the depth of the substrate? Thanks for the tip on the different sizes. I use ExoTerra but I'm not partial to any brand yet. Whosever (did I just make up up a word??) is more reasonably priced will be the one I buy since they're so expensive.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:00 am

To answer Crabby Abby question...it does raise the substrate tempon the side with the heat mats,naturaly cooling as you move to thecenter. All my molters and subterraneancrabs tunnel on the warm side. The sidewithout heat will be a little cooler thanthe ambient tank temp.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:08 am

I thought 50-60 for a 10 gal tank would be overkilltoo! And thats with the top almost sealed and a housetemp in the mid to high 60's Naturaly temps are higher right next to the heat mat.My thermometer is 1/2 way bettween the front and back(about 3 inches up)