New Herpstat 2 Help

[squishy2]

Hi! I want to upgrade my Leo's tank setup. I bought everything, I'm just having trouble where to put the probe for thermostat. I have a zoo med stick on uth, and also tile! I heard I'm supposed to put the probe inside on the glass over the uth and under the tile, but that won't work because of the tile, then I heard to stick the uth on the bottom of tank, and then stick the probe in between the glass and the sticky part of the uth (that just doesn't sound right). Then I was told to stick the uth on and tape the probe to the back of the uth. Then I was told to stick it on top of tile (but that would be in the way). So I am so confused! If I had anything other than tile I could put it under substrate, but the tile doesn't sit right on the probe! Do I have to peel the backing off the uth? Or can I just put the probe under it and tape it to the outside of the tank? Or will that cause a fire? I am pulling my hair out! Could someone PLEASE give me some help? I would appreciate it greatly!!


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[indyana]

I usually tape the probe to the bottom of the heat pad (outside tank). There should have been little spacers that came with the pad to put on the corners of the tank to raise it up and leave a gap underneath so that the pad and wires are not squished. Be sure not to put metal tape on the probe; I usually use strips of Gorilla tape, clear packaging tape, or similar.

You then have to figure out what temperature to set the thermostat to in order to get the top of the tile inside the tank around 90 F; you usually need to set the thermostat a bit higher than the desired temperature. Use a temp gun or a digital thermometer probe to check the temperature inside the cage on the floor above the heat pad.

EDIT: Sorry, in case that wasn't clear, I install the heat pad the normal way, by sticking it directly to the bottom of the tank, then tape the probe to the outside of it underneath.

 

[Neon Aurora]

I also do it the way stated above for my rack. I would also like to note that I would definitely advise against sticking the UTH to anything by the bottom of the tank. Having the UTH between two solid surfaces is a fire hazard. All UTHs require an air gap to operate safely.

I also do have one tank (the only tank I keep my normals in) where I taped the probe to the floor inside the cage. I'm using a low quality thermostat on that one and I just couldn't get it to work well without it being taped to the actual surface I want heated to he right temperature.

Rachel, I'm feeling a little stupid right now, because I had no idea that it isn't a good idea to use metal tape on the probe. Why not? I admit ignorance and have had my Herpstat probe taped to my heat tape with aluminum tape for several months with no issues.

 

[indyana]

There's a statement on the Spyder Robotics website that suggests that the metal tape can interfere with proper temperature readings from the probe by transferring heat away from it. I assume it's fine to use metal tape on the probe wire but not on the tip.

See this support article, in the section at the bottom titled "Situations That Can Cause Regulation Problems":
Where should I mount my thermostat's probe? : Spyder Robotics