Heating a plastic tank?

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paul112

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 26, 2006
796
1
16
United Kingdom
Hey. I'm struggling to find a heat mat for an exo-terra faunarium. All the ones in the LPS say "GLASS TANKS ONLY", even the small ones. I have a sheet of glass lying around from an old tank lid, could I possibly cover the heat mat with that, and then place the tank on top? Any other safe methods of heating a small plastic tank?

Thanks in advance,
Paul
 
I would think the glass would work fine, but I like to use ceramic tiles when I can. They disperse the heat evenly so there is a less chance of you burning or melting something.
 
Ceramic tiles eh? Might look into that, thanks.

I'm setting the plastic tank up on top of my wooden dresser aswell...is there anything I can put underneath it to stop it being a fire risk if it overheated?

Paul
 
If you use a reliable thermostat, you can put the heat pad directly on the plastic.

You'll have to go to a specialty reptile store or website to get one though. Stay away from the pet store thermostats like the Zoo Med Repti-Temp 500R, they are based on technology that is 50 years old and WILL fail at some point without any warning.

Ranco and Johnson Controls are great thermostats that have been proven reliable over the years by reptile keepers, saltwater and reef guys, etc....

A step up from that would be using a proportional thermostat like a Herpstat or Helix DBS-1000. These thermostats use an electronic pulse technology that adjusts the flow of electricity going to the heat pad to maintain the set temperature.

I recommend www.reptilebasics.com as good place to buy from, Rich (the owner) is a great guy and usually ships same-day. He's also available on the phone and very open to any beginner-type questions you might have.
 
paul112;1449004; said:
Ceramic tiles eh? Might look into that, thanks.

I'm setting the plastic tank up on top of my wooden dresser aswell...is there anything I can put underneath it to stop it being a fire risk if it overheated?

Paul
Click to expand...


Those little rubber self adhesive tabs that you can buy in Home depot for .99 will work. They raise the tank aprox 1/4''.
 
You needn't worry about a heat mat overheating man, stick it on the plastic it won't be a problem, they prolly just put those on them so they don't get sued if for some reason something does happen. Get a half decent thermostat too and you're away.
 
monsternoob;1449129; said:
You needn't worry about a heat mat overheating man, stick it on the plastic it won't be a problem, they prolly just put those on them so they don't get sued if for some reason something does happen. Get a half decent thermostat too and you're away.
Click to expand...

It won't overheat if controlled by a thermostat, I think that's what you are saying?

Heat pads "heat up" by running a current through a type of material that basically resists the current and heat is the by-product. Similar to the way your car's rear-defroster works. When plugged directly to a steady, open current, the material wears and hot spots are created, while some areas stop heating up altogether. These hot spots can get so hot that they melt the plastic, and can even burn the animal if it is on or near the area that's overheating.

Using a thermostat prevents this from happening.

Hope this helps.
 
Thermostats seem pretty expensive, especially if you're not talking about the ones at the pet store. Being able to afford one is going to set me back a few weeks in saving up.

I found out the habistat mats are suitable for plastic tanks, I might get the mini version of that, considering it's only a faunarium. It's only 4W, so surely it's not much of a risk, especially if I put something fire resistant underneath to protect the wood cabinet.

Will this work OK? the habistat mats are a bit more expensive, but if they're willing to say it's suitable for plastic tanks, then they must be pretty sure.

:EDIT:
Would a slightly larger habistat heat mat be OK for plastic? There's a 7 Watt one that's 6"x11", which would be more effective...

Paul
 
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