Ceramic Heat Emitter

[hometownjoker]

Hey guys,

I just got one a few days ago and finally got the right lamp for it. it's a hundred watts and i cant seem to get the temp above 78 F. Any tricks to boost the heat? I heard that some aluminum foil over the opening will raise it, will this actually work? Should i try this or ditch the lamp for a pad. my tank is 36" L 12" W 20" H. Any help advice is greatly appreciated.


I am but an egg.

 

[skips]

Hey guys,

I just got one a few days ago and finally got the right lamp for it. it's a hundred watts and i cant seem to get the temp above 78 F. Any tricks to boost the heat? I heard that some aluminum foil over the opening will raise it, will this actually work? Should i try this or ditch the lamp for a pad. my tank is 36" L 12" W 20" H. Any help advice is greatly appreciated.


I am but an egg.

A bit more information would be nice. I don't really like the ceramic bulbs. They get incredibly hot but they just heat up the air around them really. I tried one for my dart frogs but the heat gets stopped cold by the glass. the glass ends up being hot enough to burn the frogs but doesnt raise the temp much. It depends on what your set up is. If you can set it up so there is nothing but metal mesh or something (anything but metal would melt and start a fire) between the lamp and organism, and have it set up so that the animal cant come into contact with the lamp then it'll work. I personally like infrared bulbs for the majority of my heating needs because they deliver heat through anything that isnt opaque. pads are also fine, but you need a thermostat setup so that the pad doesnt get hot enough to start a fire.

 

[H. laoticus]

i place mine directly on top of the tank cover. It's 100W for a 10 gal tank and it heats it up well, always around 85 Degrees F, perfect for my hets.

btw, I don't know exactly what you have, but i'm using an 8.5 fluker clamp lamp with a 100W zoo med infrared heat lamp...so far so good!

 

[Tcollector]

Is your cage by any AC ducts? If it is it will affect the temperature the ceramic heat emitter gives off. As for heat pads its not that cheap because heat mats heat up way too high and can kill your animal, and it depends on what kind of mat you have. Any heat mat needs a thermostat but for a good thermostat their around $150. If you do go allong with heat mats dont use a cheap thermostat because they only last a few months and can kill anything in a cage. Learned from bad experiance before lol.

 

[Tcollector]

A bit more information would be nice. I don't really like the ceramic bulbs. They get incredibly hot but they just heat up the air around them really. I tried one for my dart frogs but the heat gets stopped cold by the glass. the glass ends up being hot enough to burn the frogs but doesnt raise the temp much. It depends on what your set up is. If you can set it up so there is nothing but metal mesh or something (anything but metal would melt and start a fire) between the lamp and organism, and have it set up so that the animal cant come into contact with the lamp then it'll work. I personally like infrared bulbs for the majority of my heating needs because they deliver heat through anything that isnt opaque. pads are also fine, but you need a thermostat setup so that the pad doesnt get hot enough to start a fire.

If you dont use a rehostat for the bulbs it spells bad news. I use them for my leopard geckos and it is just as good as a heat pad.

 

[Lucozade3000]

I guess people have their preferences, i just switched my whole heating system to infra-red, got the zoomed "heat glo" 150w, up to now, i was using heatmats whitch are NOT producing enough heat, they are contact heaters and i dont think they should be used as a main heat source.

If you use ceramic heating, dont place it on the outside of the tank but rather on top so the heat will be concentrated IN the tank, not flowing around it.
and to keep the heat in, you can use aluminium foil, polystirene, foam, 1st aid blankets, any insulating material..
-J

 

[Tcollector]

I guess people have their preferences, i just switched my whole heating system to infra-red, got the zoomed "heat glo" 150w, up to now, i was using heatmats whitch are NOT producing enough heat, they are contact heaters and i dont think they should be used as a main heat source.

If you use ceramic heating, dont place it on the outside of the tank but rather on top so the heat will be concentrated IN the tank, not flowing around it.
and to keep the heat in, you can use aluminium foil, polystirene, foam, 1st aid blankets, any insulating material..
-J

Heatmats are only for "belly heat". The heat mats are not meant to heat a whole cage.

 

[skips]

If you dont use a rehostat for the bulbs it spells bad news. I use them for my leopard geckos and it is just as good as a heat pad.

how do you mean? Why would I need a rheostat? I just position the lamp far enough away so as to get the temp I want.

heat pads ive always found to be inadequate for most situations as was said above, they only heat the underside of the tank. What if my scorpion isnt on the very bottom of the tank? Heat lamps dry things out a bit but provide constant ambient heat.

 

[Nomadinexile]

Heat Throws

Heating pads would be easiest and cheapest, plus they usually don't like bright lights. But you could throw in some fake plants for shade and use a High Pressure sodium light if you really want it to be a light. They Throw quit a bit of heat. A 400 watt will burn a living plant within 18 inches of it to a crisp. In an aquarium with a screen top, 150w would allow you to heat as much as needed. Hydrofarm sells a 150 with ballast and reflector for $90. It will last longer than an incandescent, but replacement bulbs are $20 a piece. plus, that's a lot of wattage for heat. The heat to energy ration stinks. A pad uses way less energy for enough heat. With the lamp, you would have to turn on and watch temps very closely until you figured out distance/heat ratio. And don't forget the plants! Or at very least a hide, or better yet, go buy a $10-$20 pad. :O) Ryan

 

[H. laoticus]

My experiences w/ pads have not been good; the ones I used hardly produced any heat at all. This may be why scorpions can be found huddled right next to heat pads. My Heterometrus did this until i switched to a bulb. After that, it was more active during the night and also spent time in its burrow. They are also not very cheap around my place either, small pads are around $23 and the large ones like $30 bucks. It's true that they save energy, but they only raised like 1-2 degrees F for me. They definitely are not suited for desert scorpions in my opinion, just too weak and unnatural to have a heat source on the side of the tank. I'd think it's better to have a heat source from above and also, it's cool to see scorpions such as bark scorps huddle under the heat source while on top of a branch. I switched over to a clamp lamp and infrared heat bulb and so far, it's excellent. The temperature goes up about 20 degrees F.
The Fluker clamp lamp cost $13 and the bulb 100w for $8. At Petco you can get a 5.5'' clamp lamp for like $11 and the 8.5'' for $13. It has a switch too, for easy turn on/off and doesn't ruin tanks w/ any adhesives like pads use.
For those living in cold areas, a pad (any that i've had experience with) would probably not cut it either.
For those attempting to use infrared heat bulbs, I don't suggest putting live plants in the tank as they will probably die. Also, it will evaporate water quickly, so place the water dish away from the high heat spots. It's much more effective to place the lamp directly over the tank too.
Scorpions also aren't affected by the red light produced from the infrared bulbs either and it's a good way to view them during the night as well.
As stated, I have had nothing but bad experiences w/ heat pads although I'm sure others have had great experiences w/ them.