Ceramic broke, flood light problem.

[murrindindi]

No, you cannot take surface temps without either a Temp-gun or thermometer/hygrom. with a probe, it sounds like you`re measuring the air, and if it`s 40c directly under the heat bulb it may well be within the recommended range, but you need to know precisely. EDIT: You say you`ll order one for the new tank, but you need one for the current one asap.
Is this similar to what you`re using just now?

,

[MrBosc]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

No, you cannot take surface temps without either a Temp-gun or thermometer/hygrom. with a probe, it sounds like you`re measuring the air, and if it`s 40c directly under the heat bulb it may well be within the recommended range, but you need to know precisely. EDIT: You say you`ll order one for the new tank, but you need one for the current one asap.
Is this similar to what you`re using just now?

,

Hi Again,

Sorry I may not have made it clear that when you previously stated "the probe needs to actually touch the surface." I meant tyo say I have a thermometer with two probes, one for monitoring the hot end and one for the cold end. And what I have done (like you stated) was use the one probe for the hot end and make it touch the surface. So in knowing this do you reckon that will be ok to monitor the basking suface with the probe that I have touching the surface?

[Toothless]

You can get temp guns pretty cheap. I picked up a tiny temp gun for $20 a little while ago, and it was by far the best purchase I made. It gives a reading in seconds, and makes checking the basking spot on a daily basis easy and quick. I was guessing my basking surface temp for the first few months, and found that I was WAY off from what the temps actually were. Surface temp really depends on what the material is that's being heated. Soil, for instance, does not heat up as well as wood. Different types of wood retain heat at different rates. Rock heats up better than wood, with the type of rock and color being of strong influence as to the amount of heat it will retain. My best advice is to NEVER guess surface temps as so many factures come into play.

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by MrBosc

Hi Again,

Sorry I may not have made it clear that when you previously stated "the probe needs to actually touch the surface." I meant tyo say I have a thermometer with two probes, one for monitoring the hot end and one for the cold end. And what I have done (like you stated) was use the one probe for the hot end and make it touch the surface. So in knowing this do you reckon that will be ok to monitor the basking suface with the probe that I have touching the surface?

Thanks for clarifying, yes, you can monitor the surface temp that way, so what is the current surface temp range at the basking site and elsewhere?