I have a tank 6'L x 2'H x 18" W. I need to heat it using CHE. the tank right now is 67* F. I want to put a ceramic heat emitter at each end. What wattage could these have to be to raise the tank's temperature to 75*F? Thanks.
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What Wattage CHE?
ANIMALmenagerie
Feb 01, 2008 02:02 PM
Replies (3)
markg
Feb 04, 2008 12:25 PM
Sorry but you will have to experiment. Depends on the ventilation, humidity, etc. If the cage has low ventilation and is insulated, less wattage is necessary to heat it. If the cage is glass with a screen top, more wattage is likely necessary. If the ambient humidity is low, likley more wattage is needed.
Remember that CHE heat energy is effective at heating objects that are within range of the energy. They will heat substrate, animals, rocks, etc - but not necessarily the air. If the cage is insulated, the effect of heating those objects will certainly raise the air temp some as well.
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Mark
ANIMALmenagerie
Feb 07, 2008 02:46 PM
Ok. Well, say the tank is a glass tank, screen top, very little humidity, and, for guessing reasons, say there is nothing in it. I was thinking like 60 watts, does this sound like enough?
molonowski2
Feb 07, 2008 09:34 PM
In my opinion this does not sound like enough. The reason I say this is the screen top. This means any heat you gain from the CHE will escape through the top and barely raise the ambient temp if at all. It will provide you with a baking area though.
MarkG gave you the best answer which is that it's impossible for us to know without trying it out. I don't really know what your trying to keep in the cage. With that being said I think screen tops are not practical in almost every situation. They allow heat to escape as well as humidty. We then compensate for this by adding more wattage. This lowers the humidity even more and creates a very dry cage that is wasting energy. You also run the risk of creating a very hot spot, right next to an area that is too cool which causes the reptile to bask for too long. This is where most burns come from.
Keep in mind this is only my opinion and may not apply to what your trying to keep. To answer your original question I would go with 2 or 3 bulbs (CHE's) for a 6' cage at one end of the cage. Hook them up to a dimmer switch then toy with it till you hit the temps you want. If using 2 or 3, 60 watts will probably work. You can always go with higher watts and tune it down on your dimmer though.
Best of luck
