Heating 20 Gal Aquarium

[Dwaink]

Hi,

I have a 20 Gal aquarium that does not seem to get hot enough to keep my Blaptica dubia feeder roaches. I have a Zoo Med uth right now for a 10-20 gal but it is not hot enough. What would be a good way to get the temps i need, 80 to 95 degree at a reasonable cost. Room stays about 60.

Regards

 

[sbugir]

Heat lamps are the way to go. Under tank heat mats only heat the tank 5-10 degrees hotter because of the volume and area of the tank. If you're looking for a massive heat increase, go for a 75-100 watt lamp. Up close (as in a few inches away) it can bring temps up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

At Petsmart (mine anyway) they sell 75 and 100 watt lamps for $12 each, and you can buy a basking bulb double pack for 17 dollars. I've never kept dubias so I have no clue what the temps need to be. But I keep my budwings and rhomboderas around 84 degrees, and a 75 watt heat lamp about two foot above achieves that temperature easily.

 

[d17oug18]

Heat lamps are the way to go. Under tank heat mats only heat the tank 5-10 degrees hotter because of the volume and area of the tank. If you're looking for a massive heat increase, go for a 75-100 watt lamp. Up close (as in a few inches away) it can bring temps up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit.At Petsmart (mine anyway) they sell 75 and 100 watt lamps for $12 each, and you can buy a basking bulb double pack for 17 dollars. I've never kept dubias so I have no clue what the temps need to be. But I keep my budwings and rhomboderas around 84 degrees, and a 75 watt heat lamp about two foot above achieves that temperature easily.

+1 heat lamps are the most efficient way to go.

 

[[email protected]]

[SIZE=14pt]ya lamps can do it but save you money go to walmart they sell GE replights day and night lights under 5 bucks they heat up 90-110F temp they are 60watt but you could do 40watt bulb they can heat up to 110f also, you don't need the whole tank in the 100's so one would do if its just a a 20gal reg, 2 if its a 20gal long I think.[/SIZE]

 

[lectricblueyes]

ClampLamp and a cheap bulb from Wal-Mart. I agree with the above suggestions. Those pads you stick to the bottom of your tank never seem to be worth the cost. $15-$25? You could get a couple clamp lamps and bulbs for that much and it actually works!

 

[Dwaink]

I am currently trying out a product called Flex watt heat tape on the bottom of the aquarium with a rheostat or dimmer switch. It is so far very slow to heat up using 20 Watts of electricity. The heat bulb at wal mart when i went their they didn't sell except for the black light kind. I am pretty sure i need the red type bulb.

Regards

 

[Rick]

I used a 25 w red bulb for cricket breeding. I would be worried about using a glass aquarium and a heat lamp. May get too hot. I would make colonies in rubbermaid tubs I think.

 

[PhilinYuma]

But backquote name='Happy Mantis' date='Nov 4 2009, 12:18 PM' post='114106']

I am currently trying out a product called Flex watt heat tape on the bottom of the aquarium with a rheostat or dimmer switch. It is so far very slow to heat up using 20 Watts of electricity. The heat bulb at wal mart when i went their they didn't sell except for the black light kind. I am pretty sure i need the red type bulb.

Regards

I think, Happy Mantis, that some of our "witty repartee" has been "disappeared"! :lol:

Now, back on topic, I have tried most common heating strategies for roaches including heat tape, about which I received helpful advice from Hibiscusmile, but the method tends to be expensive, especially when you have several boxes, as well as overkill. What you need is a localized "basking" area maintained at about 30C (~85F) and the rest around 25C (~75F). Colored lights are fine if you sleep with your roach boxes under your bed as some of us have (hi, luv!) or elsewhere in yr bedroom, or if you have some type of clear lid to yr boxes. Otherwise, clear bulbs are cheaper, more efficient and easier to replace. There is a lot of magical thinking about mysterious infrared and ultraviolet from colored bulbs. In fact, when using a clear incandescent bulb, 3% of the power is converted to light in the visible spectrum (!), about 80% to radiant heat and the rest to infra red radiation. Even with a clear top, the roaches will scuttle around at night undercover of all the egg crates that you have installed. I have a small colony of Turkestan roaches, B. lateralis in a fish tank, but I agree with Rick that Rubbermaid boxes are a better idea. For one thing, fish tanks are not designed to be moved much, and a broken tank could suddenly fill yr room with 1,000 anxious roaches! Using plastic containers, though, necessarily places some restrictions on the heat sources that you can use.

With all that heat, though, remember to maintain adequate humidity by using absorbent material such as peat moss and/or spraying daily. I like plastic packing sponge as a readily replenished source of moisture for mantids and cricks, but roaches will "gut load" on the stuff, which is probably not a good thing! Peter is from Oregan and a Master Roach Wrangler who also gave me good advice when I started; perhaps he will add some words of wisdom.

 

[Rick]

I used rubbermaids for indoor box turtle enclosures with a 150 watt clamp light on one side. This was near the side and never deformed it or anything.

 

[Colorcham427]

I used rubbermaids for indoor box turtle enclosures with a 150 watt clamp light on one side. This was near the side and never deformed it or anything.

LLLreptile.com or reptiledepot.com have awesome prices on bulbs. visit the site.

any petshop prices would be crazy priced.

what i do now is use home bulbs at 75 watt

 

[PhilinYuma]

Lots of useful advice on heating -- and using Rubbermaid enclosures -- here, Happymantis, but an extremely important element in successfully raising feeder roaches is to give them adequate food. We (certainly I) tend to pop in some food, come back in a day or two and toss in some more. Since you have a glass aquarium as an enclosure, though, you will find that if you toss in a sliced grapefruit, for example, in the evening, it will be gone by morning. I now try to keep enough food in my enclosures so that there is always some available, and the roaches' fecundity has increased.