How to heat 55 gallon tank?

[namrufmot]

My class pet, Ramses, is going to move into his new 55 gallon enclosure soon.

I have a 24" 10.0 Reptisun bulb for the UVB, a 150w white day bulb for basking, and a 150w ceramic heat emitter for night. I'm worried that the bulbs, placed on top of the screen, will not heat the tank all the way to the bottom. He has walkways/ramps to get within six inches of the heat though.

Is my heating sufficient, or how else can I ensure the entire tank is hot enough?

 

[mike022]

How are your temps now? How are you measuring them?

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I am not sure what the temps are in your classroom, but 150W seems to be alot of heat for a 55 gallon tank. The heat light being on top of a screen is no problem and you can raise or lower the basking platform as needed. Do you have the UVB light on the screen top as well? The screen will block out a good portion of the uv rays. It is best to put the uvb hanging inside the tank. You can hang the fixture from the glass using 3M hooks, if needed.
It's best if your UVB light and your basking bulb are side by side. This way your beardie will benefit from both at the same time.
What brand and type uvb are you using?
General rule of thumb for the distance between your beardie and the basking light is 8-10". You mentioned your beardie can get within 6" of the basking light.. that is a bit close for a 150W bulb. This could cause burns or overheating.
As the above poster asked... what type of thermometer are you using to measure temps? A digital thermometer w/probe, dial, stick-on or temp gun?
What are you getting for temps on the basking and coolside?
The CHE's(ceramic heat emitter) are great for added heat at night, but beardies do not need any heat at night unless their temps fall below 65 degrees.

 

[namrufmot]

Ok Dawn...let me try to answer all of those questions!

I put the 150w basking light on top of the tank. Using an Acurite digital thermometor the temp at the bottom of the tank was 95. The temp on top of his ramp, about 14" high, was 102.

I have the ceramic heater hooke dup to a thermostat set for 70...so most night it never even turns on. When the New England winters come though I'll definetly need it every night.

I have a 24" ReptiSun 10.0 UVB bulb on top on the screen right now. Do you have photos of exactly how I can hang it inside the tank? It's a trip light so I can't picture how hooks would work.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Okay... so I have a few more questions for you, LOL

When measuring the temp under your basking light, are you allowing the probe to sit for about 45 minutes for best reading? Is the bulb a basking bulb(from petstore) or a regular household bulb? If it is a regular household bulb, you could try getting a smaller watt halogen flood light, which would put off better heat and would be more directed downward. I can't believe you are only getting 102 degrees from 6" away :shock:
What temps are you getting on the coolside?
How old is your beardie? The desired temps are a bit different depending on the age. The babies need it a bit warmer than the older ones.
102 degrees is not bad, but 6" inches away is not good either.
I am not exactly sure what a trip light is, but I will try and find you a pic of a uvb affixed with the 3M hooks. One of my tanks has wooden slats on top, so I have my UVB tube/fixture hanging from a chain.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Well I could not find any tanks with the 3M hooks, but found this thread where someone used a coat hanger to hang the uvb on the inside of the tank.. very ingenious, I thought!
Hope it helps!
Someone else might come along who has used the hooks and help you out with that.