Glass-top, Front-Opening Terrarium?

[wodesorel]

I hate aluminum screening in general for just that reason. The stuff on the exoterra is better quality and a lot "softer" of a mesh, but the edges are always going to be a mass of spikey little wires. It's a lot like handing a wire brush! I need to use a heat lamp on that particular tank, or I'd swap it out for fiberglass. Easier and safer to work with. I redo the windows screens every year (cats) and it's like working with butter on comparison.

[Lephantome92]

A potential flaw i just realized: will putting the heat hood on top of the tank void its heating ability?

[Hermias_mom]

A potential flaw i just realized: will putting the heat hood on top of the tank void its heating ability?

Not sure what you mean - I don't understand what you're asking. If you place a heat lamp directly onto glass, it will crack the glass. But if you hang it at some distance from the glass lid/sides of your tank and monitor tank and glass temperatures, that should work. I know some folks on here have that configuration. UTH's heat the glass on the side of the tank, which heats the tank air, which heats the substrate and keeps crabs cozy. Hanging a heat lamp outside the crabitat has much the same effect. If you want your heat lamp to directly heat inside the crabitat, you'll need some type of mesh lid, maybe with a hole cut out for where the heat lamp resides, and you'll have to pay special attention to keeping humidity inside the tank, as heat lamps tend to zap humidity. Also, sealing the reptile mesh lid around where the heat lamp is with something that doesn't melt (plastic wrap and plexiglass can both melt due to heat) is important, and not a trivial thing to do safely. If you go that route, keep a good eye on your tank temps at all junctions for at least a week to be sure you won't overheat anything over time.

[Lephantome92]

Oops, i should've asked if it was ok to put the hood on glass doing that will have the light itself just over an inch off the glass. The day bulb is about 6 inches from the moon bulb, and the incandescent bulb is 10 inches the opposite way from the moon bulb. The moon bulb is always on, and the others are on a timer. Would this affect the possibility of a crack?

[wodesorel]

It will likely crack if it's only an inch away. Incandescent heat lamps should be raised off of glass at least several inches, more like 6 or 8 for safety. When glass heats up it expands, which causes it to crack. The bulbs can hit 400 degrees which is too much for the thin panes used in aquariums and terrariums. A UTH on the other hand doesn't go above 150 which is why it's (usually) safe up against the glass.

[Hermias_mom]

Oops, i should've asked if it was ok to put the hood on glass doing that will have the light itself just over an inch off the glass. The day bulb is about 6 inches from the moon bulb, and the incandescent bulb is 10 inches the opposite way from the moon bulb. The moon bulb is always on, and the others are on a timer. Would this affect the possibility of a crack?

I'm in agreement with wodesorel. From what I recall, only the incandescent (EDIT - I meant fluorescent) bulbs are cool enough to be rested on top of glass. I think the others generate too much heat (are the day bulbs and moon bulbs heat generators? I think I know what you're talking about but I hesitate to assume), and could lead to cracking when placed close to the glass like that. It's all about thermal expansion. When you put the heat generating bulbs close to the glass like that, you create one small area of intensely hot glass surrounded by a much larger area of relatively cool glass. The hot glass wants to expand while the cool glass tries to keep it from expanding, leading to high stresses in your material, which means high potential for cracking. Knocking against the glass like in normal use when it's hot and cold like that could be enough to crack the glass (depending on the heat loads and presence or absence of pre-existing cracks in the material - some cracks you can't even see). Just not a good idea in my opinion.

[wodesorel]

Incandescent create heat, whether they are labeled as heat bulbs or not. Florescent and LED are cool enough to rest on glass, so long as they aren't directly touching.

[Lephantome92]

Based off this, considering an average household temperature of 68-70, would it be wiser to make a stand to keep the hood off the glass, or buy UTHs that will work around the joint and pop a cfl or led or 2 in the fixtures? If it would lead to more stable temperatures, the third light is designed to stand under the tank and be extendable, so i could potentially have that in the tank and protect it from crabs if it would mean more stable temps, but that seems like disaster waiting to happen

[wodesorel]

I use both heat lamps and UTH for a variety of critters, and I do like UTH better. Safer, even heating, and no worry about burn outs or breakage. The new household LEDs look incredible for visible light so that would replace your current daylight heating bulb. Your house is warm enough that a UTH would give you perfect temps with a 10-15 degree bump. It's when a house is kept in the low 60s (I do this myself in winter) that a UTH may not have the power needed to warm the entire tank and a light might be the better choice.

[Lephantome92]

Is there a guide here on UTHs so i can get a good kind? Also, since where they are now is the basement that gets no light at night, should i have a weak moon bulb on at night?

[daws409]

http://Www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.beanfarm.com best places for UTH. You'll want largest that fits along the back and ABOVE the sub.

If they're in a place that has no natural light, then yes I would use a moon glo at night and a Sun glo during the day. You could use a led during the day instead of Sun glo if you wanted...

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[daws409]

Also wanted to add that I use reptile hoods (Sun glo bulb for day and moon glo bulb at night) on my glass tops with no problems. However..., I have them elevated on a 2 inch thick wood block for air flow.

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[Lephantome92]

I'll try elevating it like that as soon as everything is set up! If there glass starts getting too hot, should i go 6x27 or smaller for my tank?

[GotButterflies]

http://Www.reptilebasics.com or http://www.beanfarm.com has great uths.

Edit: sorry Daws- I'm having issues not seeing all of the posts on Tapatalk
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[Lephantome92]

Would it be best for the UTH to cover the entire back or just one end to make a gradient?