Heating a wooden melamine vivarium?

_simon_ · #1 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 08:01 AM

I've only ever had glass tanks so need advice on how to heat a 24" melamine finished vivarium. I understand you can't stick heatmats on the outside because the heat won't penetrate the wood but if I stick them on the inside will they still work properly? I'm not sure about using a bulb as the tank will be in the bedroom which would mean bright nights.

Any advice greatly appreciated!

rotty · #2 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 08:25 AM

yes they will work ok,just as they did with your glass tanks.
you will just need to cover the heat mat with something ie,perspex sheet,
ceramic floor tiles etc just to make sure no liquid or sh*t can get on to the mat.
then drill a couple of holes in the back of the viv for cable entry/exit
1 for the heat mat and 1 for your matstat probe.

Alan

_simon_ · #3 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 08:36 AM

Instead of perspex or tiles could I use something more natural looking like cork / coco / fern panels? I have no idea what thickness of material the mat could penetrate.

rotty · #4 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 08:50 AM

if you covered the heatmat in tiles for example you can still put your substrate of choice over the tiles so you cant see them.
maybe put a layer of tin foil under the mat to start with which will help reflect the heat in to the viv.

so you would have inside your viv -
layer of tin foil-heatmat-ceramic tiles-then whatever substrate you wish.

then just adjust your matstat to the correct temp for whatever you plan to keep in the viv.

_simon_ · #5 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 09:06 AM

Sorry I should have said, I'll be moving my horned frog into it so the mat would be on the side, not the bottom.

rotty · #6 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 09:48 AM

well i think in that case you would be fine with just a layer of tin foil,then the mat ,you could then hide the mat using leaves/cork or whatever.
but as you allready know heatmats dont usually bring up the ambient(sp) temps in vivs very well,,they are good at warming whatever they have contact with though.
but if you have used them in the past in glass tanks and maintained the correct temp etc,,you should be ok with the wooden viv.
another way would be a ceramic bulb heater which gives off heat but not light.

_simon_ · #7 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 10:07 AM

Thanks again for the help. Looking at ceramic heat options. I use mat stats at the moment that are rated up to 100watt. As long as the ceramic bulb doesn't exceed 100watt the stat should still be ok shouldn't it? Would you be able to suggest what wattage I might need for a 24" x 15" x 15" viv for temps between 80 - 85F?

rotty · #8 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 10:21 AM

The thing with matstats and ceramic bulbs is the matstat will turning the bulb on and off all the time,,which will shorten the working life of the ceramic bulb.
dimming stats on the other hand supply a variable amount of power to the bulb to keep the viv at the correct temp,,so the bulb in theory should last longer.
here is a link to one ceramic that i use.
Complete ceramic heat bulb kits

you can buy a dimming stat for about £40 new,,or you might get one second hand on this forum.

rotty · #9 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 10:30 AM

Sorry forgot to add,,
If you go for the 100 watt ceramic it will only use enough power to keep the viv at the correct temp.both the 60 watt and the 100 watt will do the job in that size of viv,it`s just that the 60 watt one would be running longer to maintain the temp than the 100 watt one(i think)
plus if you wanted to move it into a 36 X 18 x 18 in the future the 100 watt ceramic would heat that size of viv,,but i think the 60 watt bulb would struggle.

_simon_ · #10 (**permalink**) 09-05-2008, 02:53 PM

Thanks rotty, you've been a great help

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