So I ordered a 100W Ceramic heat emitter and have been using it for a while. I'm not sure if I got a dud, but it only heats to about 80-85 degrees directly below it at 12inch away, and not much at all around it. That seems low to me, since it's supposed to keep the whole tank warm at night. If my beardie isn't directly below it, it doesn't seem to heat the surrounding area at all. My beardie is 4 months old in a 30 gallon, but I'll be switching him over to a Repti-Tank soon that's 48x24x24. It gets really cold in our house during the winter, so I know this ceramic heater won't heat that size of a tank adequately, especially since it will be twice the height up at 24inches. Should I get two for each side of the tank and also should I up the wattage to maybe 200W? Has anyone else checked the temps these emit and does it sound like mine is low?
That's a perfect CHE, as long as it does not go below 60-65 at night in the tank. They do like it cool at night. Ive got a few small scraps of fleece blanket in the tank, Mystic loves snuggling in & under them. My CHE is also 100W. Keeps the tank between 70-80 degrees F.
I wouldn't go higher than that. You don't need the whole tank to be super warm but rather have a warm spot and to bring the temps around the tank up slightly. I have my heat projector over the cool side of the tank and it's set to kick in when the room temp drops below 65. It heats the cool side to between 70-75 and turns off above that. If you can keep your dragon above 65 he will be fine. I shoot for a sweet spot nighttime temp of about 73 which is about room temp in the summer. You just need a little bump from the CHE rather than a ton of heat the way you do with the basking lamp.
It's hooked to a programmable thermostat. I have a Herpstat2 controlling the basking light in dimmer mode and the nighttime heat projector in pulse mode.