Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 15 gallon Aquarium that I was going to use as a quarintene tank. I was haveing trouble getting the temps to where I want them and was wondering if its just a bad heater or if heating an aquarium is harder than a terrarium. I know the glasss is slightly thicker. I also have a 20L terrarium thats set up exactly the same with the same heater and everything and it gets to the proper temps. I am shooting for 89-90 but the Aquarium only gets to 85. Useing ZooMed heater for 10-20gallon tanks. Has tile as substrate. Just the tile on the glass. Both tanks use the same brand and size heater. The aquarium is smaller. Not sure if it was just a bad heater or if the aquarium is harder to heat.

Do you mean you want 90 deg on the cage floor above the heater?

You don't have a bad heater. One possibility is the thicker glass = more energy absorbed by the glass and less getting to the tile. Is the tile the exact same type/material as in the other cage?

Covering the tile with newspaper helps trap the heat in. A snake going under the newspaper over the tile will warm up quite well.

Also, do you limit ventilation? Doing that helps tremendously, but you have to cover almost all of the top. Does the smaller tank have more ventilation per floor area than the larger terrarium?
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Mark

Trying to achieve 88-90 degrees on the floor where the heater is. The hot zone. The only differences between the two tanks is the Aquarium is not as long as the terrarium & the glass is slightly thicker on the aquarium. Same depth and height for both tanks. 15 gal aquarium and a 20L terrarium. So the 20L is about 5-6 inches longer. Sreeen tops on both so ventelation is the same. Same exact tiles on both tanks. I would think the 20L would be harder to heat since its bigger. I think its the heater personaly, because the heater on the 20L needs a thermostat to keep it from getting too high but the 15 gal aquarium is run without a thermostat on full blast and it wont get up to temps.