# How to heat at night?



## Guest (Aug 28, 2006)

I am building my first vivarium, and I'm trying to figure out how to heat it at night (mostly a concern during the winter). The temps in my home might fall to the 50's, and I don't want to leave the light on 24/7. My tank won't include any kind of pond, so I can't use an aquarium heater. I searched this site and saw that someone suggested using a black incandescent herp bulb. Would that just sit on top of the tank somehow? Are there any other ways to heat the viv? What do most people use during the winter? Thanks for your help!


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

Meesha said:


> I am building my first vivarium, and I'm trying to figure out how to heat it at night (mostly a concern during the winter). The temps in my home might fall to the 50's, and I don't want to leave the light on 24/7. My tank won't include any kind of pond, so I can't use an aquarium heater.


Use an under the tank heat mat w/rheostat. Increase the photo peroid by a couple hours during the winter season.

Frogs can handle mid fifty degree temps without any problem for short durations. It's always warmer inside the tank than out (in the case of a glass top) even at night without the lights. Find a placement with the warmest, most stable temp range if all else fails.



> I searched this site and saw that someone suggested using a black incandescent herp bulb. Would that just sit on top of the tank somehow? Are there any other ways to heat the viv? What do most people use during the winter? Thanks for your help!


If you have live plants an incandescent bulb with cause them to eventually scorch, plus it may disturb the frogs not only to have a constant light source but also if the temp is unable to drop by a few degrees at night.

I don't use any additional heat source for my tanks, and if your house temp doesnt fall below 50 for extended period of time things should be ok. Some of the smaller frogs may be a bit more picky when it comes to cooler temps


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## thong_monster (May 6, 2006)

Heat lamps can heat up your viv too fast and its difficult to control the temps this is more true when your tank has less ventilation than a reptile type enclosure with just a screen lid. This might work in a big enough tank with temp controlled on/off swiches, but its still risky.

Heating pads would not work because there is a risk that your glass might crack unless there is no water at all in the bottom of your tank. 

You can try a bottle with a heater inside. Try to seal it up as much as you can so frogs wont be able to find its way inside. Its going to look ugly but I think its worth a shot since you dont have a water feature. Monitior the water lvls inside the bottle so it wont dry up and crack your heater. 

Any other ideas guys?


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

The easiest way is to heat a room... You really let it get down into the 50's?


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

kyle1745 said:


> The easiest way is to heat a room...


My sentiments EXACTLY 



> You really let it get down into the 50's?


Hell no, I'd freeze before the frogs, It did get down to 55 or so one night without the frogs being effected. They seemed to even liked that occasional cooling, the ate crazily for next couple days. 55 in the house would be about 65 in the tank. Normally in the winter I don't let it get below 65 at night (but that's for me not the frogs, if it wasn't for me being such a wuss I'd keep it cooler and save on the utility bill.


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## slaytonp (Nov 14, 2004)

Meesha, if your tanks do get down into the low 50's in winter and you can't elevate the room temperatures, you can modify the tanks just a bit with an undertank heater such as are used for reptiles, but don't put it under the tank, where it may get too hot and scortch whatever you have it on, but paste it on the back behind the water falls or whatever features you have there. These under tank heaters have no true thermal control and often go haywire, so they are more safe just heating the glass on one side of the tank. 

Actually, rather than doing all of this tank heating, it might be cheaper in the long run to keep your room temperatures up to at least 60 degrees at night. The tanks will be somewhat warmer that this, due to the substrate and water retaining heat over night, and most darts can tolerate this very well. If you can't control your own room temperatures for some reason, you probably shouldn't be in a hobby that must simulate rainforest conditions. Over all, the temperature of the tanks is best controlled by the outside room temperatures. All we usually have to add to the tanks is humidity.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2006)

in the basement we have a space heater - its one of those oil filled ones? Not sure what theyre called but theyre relatively inexpensive and work real well. Has like 10 different power settings so the heat output can be fine tuned.

I'm not the biggest fan of UTH but I have seen some that supposedly operate at a lower temp than 'desert' UTH types.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback. I do agree that it would be simpler to just never let the temperature in the living room fall below 60 degrees ... but it is expensive these days :wink: 

Say I go away for a week in the winter (having someone stop by to feed the frogs, of course...). Do people just leave the heat on for their whole houses while they're gone? I may look into using a heat mat on the side of the tank, instead.


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## Guest (Aug 30, 2006)

we keep it a little cool in our office and all the ladies have these small space heater in their offices. they have a thermostat on them, and i think theyd be good for a herp room. im pretty sure they weer bought online. ill try and get a link if any ones interested. you wouldnt have to have one running 24/7 with the thermo.


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## Rain_Frog (Apr 27, 2004)

My tanks in the basement got to the low sixties to high fifties last winter, because my basement connects to my garage.

I heated my mantella tank by taping loosely an electric heat pad against the side of the tank and set it on low. My tank is acrylic, so no fear of cracking. I highly doubt your tank will crack if you set it on a low heat setting because my lights make the glass top real hot without a fan and I have yet to see them crack. If the heat pad stays on (and you don't turn it up too high), I'm sure there is less fear of glass shattering.

Just be careful you monitor the temperature because you don't want the wall to get too hot in which it could cause stress if they move from a real cool spot to a real warm spot or if it can burn them. 

About the heat lamps, what about an ceramic heat emitter? It gives off no light, lasts for a very long time too. I'm sure if you suspended it a few inches above the tank and left it on 24/7 it would keep the tank at a stable temperature without burning plants near the top.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Be careful as that method has been known to crack tanks...


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## Guest (Aug 31, 2006)

here it gets -40 outside and inside we dont leave the heat on at night so it drops around 10 degrees


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

Not even a heating pad could keep up with 10 I bet.


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

Dude412 said:


> here it gets -40 outside and inside we dont leave the heat on at night so it drops around 10 degrees


Oooh that sounds cozy. Where do you live?


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

The short answer: A space heather.


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## kyle1745 (Feb 15, 2004)

I run a space heater in the basement on a digital thermostat I wired up. Its working great and the newer space heaters have a good number of safety features.


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## Resilient (May 21, 2006)

What is the lowest a tank can safely get at night? My thermometer reads a nightly low of about 62 and a high in the day of around 77. Currently there are no frogs yet but i am going to be getting some this weekend. I have a tank heater if nessicary but i wasnt sure if i needed it or not.

Justin


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

Try to keep it above 60.


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