You say for now, which I take as meaning this rack may house different species over time. That makes me think you need versatility.



A few years back somebody posted a rack in which flexwatt was all wired to one Tstat but then every two levels or so had a rheostat so zones could be dialed in accordingly. Maybe Bighurt or MarkG will have more ideas about this.



To me this project calls for heat cable and a design that allows you to route the appropriate amount of cable underneath each tub. More work but probably the best choice overall. And simpler than rheostats to create zones.



I'm going to disagree with Rainbowsrus and Bighurt slightly. Years ago I had mixed species in racks and would actually house the species with greater heat requirements in the bottom and the cooler species at the top. This worked for me simply because I could place a clay hide over the hot spot on one of the lower levels and it would slightly heat the shelf above for the cooler species. In other words, the cooler species had no heat tape, only a small amount of residual heat from the thermal mass source below.



However, I won't suggest this is a situation that can be duplicated easily in any given environment. But it might work for you.
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Currently keeping:



6.10 Gonyosoma oxycephalum (Javan, mixed colors)



1.1 Philodryas baroni



1.1 Lampropeltis triangulum multistriata



1.0 Rhodesian Ridgeback

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