CHE - placement in 18" high viv

hi everyone,

so i finally received my viv yesterday - its currently 3/4 built at home with the sealant drying overnight.

when i get home from work tonight it will be ready for me to set up the lighting etc.. which brings me to my question.

i am not sure where i should place the CHE - i had intended to put it in the back corner of the hot end but i miss-judged the distance taken up by the bulb holder + bracket and using the lamp guard would bring it waaaaaay to close to anything around it.

so i wanted to ask - is it ok to use a CHE without a guard so long as it is placed where there is absolutely no way that my baby could reach it?

i was thinking either put it next to the basking bulb (i.e centre of the ceiling i guess about 12" along - in a 4ft viv) or maybe put it in the FRONT corner tucked up between the top plinth thing and the ceiling - there will be no furniture there so no chance of him / her being able to touch it?

thank you all so much
RD.

My CHE sits on top of the screen and in the middle of the tank ---- its been on since we got really cold 24/7 -- keeps my tanks around 70 at nite w/ all the lights off --- I dont have it inside the tank ---
Karrie

hi Karrie,

thanks for the reply - my viv is a 48" x 18" x 18" wood viv with glass front sliding doors, so it has to be installed inside.

i hadn't correctly calculated exactly how low the CHE fitting would be if i put it inside a bulb guard cage thingy.

if i put it in the centre of the ceiling WITHOUT a guard but with nothing around to enable my little one to be able to get near enough to touch it - would that be ok?

thank you!
RD.

As long as he cant get to it he should be fine -- are you putting it in a dome or just the bare bulb? I have seen bare bulbs in tanks w/ a cage around the bulb but I never even thought of doing it that way mine has always been in a dome and sat on top of tank --
Karrie

You might want to consider a heat projector (MegaRay and Arcadia make them) rather than a CHE. They don't run as hot on the surface (but still project plenty of heat) so the burn risk is lessened. I keep mine over the cool end (which turns it into the 'warm' end overnight at around 70-73f using an on/off thermostat).