Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a good idea about how i'm puttin this puppy together... but having a helluva time finding heat tape... and how exactly do you work out the temp for the heat tape? any suggestions would be great---i've got 20 on the way in 3-4 weeks and no rack system finished yet!! please help if you can!
brandon

Here's a link to Dwight Good's project page you should find all you need to know there.

http://www.kingsnake.com/obsoleta/projects.htm
Alan

I just put my rack system together, and ordered the Flexwatt tape from the Bean Farm. I took the advice of a couple sources and installed dimmer switches inline on the tape. Works like a charm! I'm even attempting a dimmer switch inline on a power strip to possibly run my outdated UTH that get too warm. Hopefully I can run 4 tanks off one strip and control their temps with more accuracy.

Purchase some cheap indoor/outdoor thermometers from Radio Shack and you're set. You can also get the aluminum tape from a Menards or Home Depot or Lowe's, whatever home improvement place you have in your area. You can get the power cords there for cheap (89 cents?) All you need to get from the Bean Farm is the Flexwatt and clips (some don't recommend using the clips either).

D80

i have a pretty good idea of how to put together the rack, i just had no idea where to get this flexwatt, thanks much!

Beautiful racks you got there. Okay, first, is that melamine? I guess I have two questions, second, what is supporting the shelves? Did you drill in from the outside? How about a close-up of the support system? Thanks in advance.

Yes it is 3/4 inch melamine. The support for the shelves is basically 4 2.25 inch screws evenly spaced in each side. My buddy the shop teacher helped me make sure it was sturdy enough with that support. Each shelf isn't actually holding that much weight. I think the shelf itself weighs more than the tub and snake. Just got them all finished up over the weekend last, and one of them got filled with snakes today. It's working slick!

D80