New Viv

[mike_ross]

I'm currenlty building a new viv and looking for some advice on thermostats, are there different types, what I should be using etc.

I might be being thick but I want to make sure I get everything right, so any advice on thermostats for a viv for a common boa would be much appreciated.

Mike:

[stretch]

There are three good thermostats that I use. The first is the cheapest its called an "Alife thermostat". They run about 30-40$'s. My other 2 fav's are helix therm's and big apple herp thermostats. Those could run about 100+ $'s. The "alife is a great therm, but the helix and big apple are less likely to mess up and they also have better features, like night drops and stuff like that. I've had my "alife" therm for like 6 months and it has never gave me one prob. Hope everything works out for you.

[mike_ross]

Thanks for that, I've also been told when placing my vents I should have one low at the warmer side and one high at the cooler side...is this correct and if so why??

[Edwin]

Mike, it is actually the opposite, low vent on the cool side and high vent on the hot side.

This is to create airflow through your enclosure, so that the air doesn't stagnate. Fresh, cool air enters the enclosure through the low vent, and as it gets warmer, rises and exits through the upper vent.

How big a viv are you planning on building?

Hope this helps.

[Lisa]

There's a couple other thermostats that you can use, if you do a search on google you can find a couple, make sure they are for use with 110 volt devices though (not 24v). here's a site that has some selection, they're meant for green house use but that's not a problem, infact it may be better, some of them are water proof (good for humidity situations). http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/accessory/controls.shtml
there's other sites out there too, that's just the first one i found.

[mike_ross]

Thanks for everyones help, I'm going for a scout about today and see what's available.

The tank I'm building is 60 x 24 x 24

Mike

[stretch]

It doesn't need to be waterproof the thermostat doesn't even go inside the tank. If I were you I would go with either the thermostats I mentioned or a thermostat that was made to be used with reptiles. As for the vents I don't know I never built a tank I buy all of mine. Something that I find that works great is when you have a large tank to put a computer fan on the hot side, so it will blow the hot air to the cool side, keeping the cool side at a perfect temp without adding a heating device to the cool side. It also makes good air flow so the air doesn't become stagnant.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by stretch
It doesn't need to be waterproof the thermostat doesn't even go inside the tank. If I were you I would go with either the thermostats I mentioned or a thermostat that was made to be used with reptiles.

Just because a thermostat is made by a herp company doesn't mean it's any good. Take heat rocks for example they're made by a respected herp company and I know very few people that would use them. As for water proof, you may not need it to be waterproof, but it is an added bonus, exspecialy when dealing in high humidy situations, such as a herp room. I'm not saying that he has to get one, it's just an option.

[stretch]

Even in a herp room the humidity doesn't get high enough to break any regular thermostat. Everyone knows heat rocks suck, any intelligent herper wouldn't use a heat rock anyways. I think that certain thermostats that are made to be used with reptiles are better. I could be wrong though thats just my personal opinion on thermostats. You don't have to get all butt hurt. I gave him advice on what I used and what I thought worked good

[tightsqueeze]

OK I CAN SEE THIS TURNING UGLY ....LETS ALL AGREE TO DISAGREE EH'?

[sMikes]

Thanks for all your help on this, I start the viv tomorrow night and will hopefully have some pictures when it's done......unless I'm ashamed!!

Mike

[Edwin]

Mike,

You don't have to worry about making one vent higher than the other, since your viv is only 2 feet high. The difference is minimal and probably not noticable. I would definitely recommend it for arboreal cages, though.

Good luck with your viv! Do post pics, it will be interesting and maybe we can all learn something.

Cheerio!