Zen habitat heating

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jzulch

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Hi! I have a 120 gallon zen habitat wooden tank. I’ve seen in some places that an under the tank heater isn’t compatible with this tank, and in some places that it is as long as it’s inside of the tank. I’m not sure how I should heat the tank at night. I was considering a ceramic heat emitter, but I’m afraid the tank is too tall for that to work. Also, I ended up mounting my uvb light internally so that it is close enough. I’m worried about mounting the basking light in the tank because I don’t want my beardie to get burned. It’s not hot enough on the basking side as a result, and I have a 150 watt bulb. Any recommendations on what wattage bulbs to use?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
How are you taking basking temps? I have 2 Zen's and use 150 watt bulbs - I have recently had to downsize the wattage to 100's as they were getting too hot- I have a 100 watt ceramic heat emitter that sits in the middle of the tank center back - keeps my tanks in the 70's in the cold winter months- where is your tank? Is it in a warm room- I know if I close my office / computer room door as that is where my dragons are the tanks get too hot in the summer- they stay warm in the winter- you should not use a under the tank heater- I am posting a pic of blazes tank
97951-8462642594.jpg
Karrie
 

jzulch

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for responding! I can’t figure out how to post a picture, but my tank is in a large living room with high ceilings and it’s usually 72 degrees. I use a thermometer that has a little probe at the end (I think you have it in your picture) and I taped it higher up where his hammock is and it’s only at 89 degrees. My uvb light is hanging in the middle of the tank and on the left of the tank is the heat lamp. There also isn’t any overlap between the uvb light and basking area which concerns me. Do you have your ceramic heater on all the time or only in the winter?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Hammocks often do not give accurate basking temps- I would get a solid piece of decor and take the probe place it where he would sit and wait 10 minutes or so get temp--- my heat emitter is off in summer- go to the top of page in the banner click on user image uploader then click the XIMG at the top of the message box and then click on the picture it should post
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You need to get a piece of basking decor under the UVB-- where he is sitting isn't doing much good he needs to be able to sit directly under the UVB-- wooden is fine but hard to clean - look at some of the decor I have in my tank - most of the pieces come from PetSmart except the rock under the UVB- the piece under the basking light is resin and a great piece for gradient heat-- I use ceramic tile it is a snap to keep clean- I put a thick blue shop paper towels under the tile to catch the watery urate- the tiles are layed in there loose so I clean them w/ vinegar and water 50/50 then replace the towel underneath if need be- the vinegar gets rid of the smell- how far is the UVB hanging in the tank? Here's hiccups tank
97951-6618921375.jpg
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Your not getting a accurate reading for basking temps on the side of tank it's giving ambient temps
Karrie
 

jzulch

Member
Original Poster
It’s about 4 inches below the top of the tank I would say. Thank you this is great advice! If I’m not getting the right temperatures, what’s a better way to get the right temperatures? Should I get the type of thermometer you have instead of the probe?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
No probes give correct temps but they need to be set on the spot of where hes sitting for basking - and hammocks are hard to get readings - I would take the hammock down move it and place a piece of solid decor under it like the wood piece there but it looks like its sitting under the bulb- is the bulb a bright white bulb your using and what is the brand? It looks like its almost a off yellowish type -- your using the same type of probe I have -- what is the temps in the middle of the tank and on the cool side of the tank ? I would look at getting a infrared heat gun too -- you can get them at your local home improvement store for like $15-20 --- I use all 3 temp gauges in my tanks a stick on that gives ambient temps - a digital probe and a infrared heat gun--
Karrie
 

jzulch

Member
Original Poster
Okay- thank you! He’s getting a wooden basking platform that should be coming in the mail soon. I have a zoomed light and I believe it’s 150 watts but I’m not sure. It’s only a couple of weeks old but do you think I should get a different light? Thank you so much for all of this advice!!!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
No keep the basking light - we need to get a temp off a solid piece of decor -- take that probe and set it on the wooden piece you have under the light now - take the hammock out of the way - I dont want any thing obstructing the beam - leave on there for 10 min or so and tell me what the temp is -- getting a infrared heat gun is going to help as well --- you need to get a piece of decor directly under your UVB too -- does your dragon sit directly under the UVB on the floor of the tank ? Please check the wattage of the bulb
Karrie
 
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