Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone
I just got a new tank for my Leos and to heat it i got flex watt heat tape. I got two feet of the 11 inch tape. I also got a big apple thermostat to keep temps right. I was wondering how do i place it on the tank. Do i tape it, where should i tape it? All questions on positioning/ placement and how to place it.
Also any hints as to wiring that would make it easier
Thanks
Joseph

I use the 11" Flexwatt to heat my tanks and rack. I ordered mine from BeanFarm.com which also sells Aluminum Tape to tape down the FlexWatt. If you don't have any or can't find it anywhere you can also use electrical tape.

For my tanks, which sit on a metal aquarium stand, I placed a piece of 1/8" pegboard under the tank and taped the FlexWatt to the baord. I just cut the wood to slightly larger then the dimension of the tank footprint. This serves two purposes. One, it helps ventilate the Flexwatt, and creates some protection between the home-job wiring and a metal object. On the bottom of the tank, I put some 1/8" rubber feet that I bought from Home Depot. This helps to create more ventilation on the other side of the FlexWatt. DON'T Place the FlexWatt inside the tank. This can cause many danger issues for your leos. Once the flexwatt is wired up, plug it into your thermostat and place the thermostat probe into the tank on the hot side. You may notice that the probe is not going to get the exact temp of the tank floor. In my opinion, The temp of the tank floor is the most important. I have my thermostats a few degrees lower then normal because the probe's location is a few degrees cooler then the tank surface. I doubled checked this with an infered temp gun.

Don't forget to create a heat gradient.

After the actual connection of the wires, I didn't use the plastic saftey caps, just electrical tape. Here is a link that I used for referance and instruction when wiring my FlexWatt for the first time:

www.arbreptiles.com/cages/flexwire.shtml

I hope all this helps,
Jason
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LEOS:
1.0 Tremper Giant Albino (Diesel)
0.1 High Yellow (Ayla)
0.1 Hypo (Red Sonja)
0.0.3 Juvies (Dremel, Ryobi & Mufasa)
R.I.P. (Conan)

CATS:
2.0 Maine Coons (Sam & Tye)

FIANCÉE:
0.1 Tall Blonde (Christine)