CHE~Hydrofarm or Dimmer?

SnoopySnake · 02-14-16, 09:12 AM

Ok, so as some of you may have seen, I just picked up a gargoyle gecko. I want to get him on a CHE because my room stays a little cold at night, and I don't want to disturb it's day/night cycle.

So, here's my question. My room stays about 73-75 during the day, and 73-69 at night. Would you guys advise I put a CHE on a dimmer or a Hydrofarm? Pros and cons of each? If you suggest a dimmer, how do I use that with a CHE? Please and thank you!

**EL Ziggy** · 02-14-16, 09:57 AM

A- I'd definitely go with a thermostat. I tried a CHE with a dimmer and would get too much temperature fluctuation. Sometimes it would even turn off if it was set too low. I think you'll get more steady temps with a thermostat. I do like dimmers better for my IR heat bulbs though.

SnoopySnake · 02-14-16, 10:03 AM

So the thermostats work fine with CHE's? I've never used a CHE, do you use the same fixture as a regular light/heat bulb?

prairiepanda · 02-14-16, 02:46 PM

I would definitely go with a thermostat over a dimmer, as rhacs tend to be sensitive of high heat conditions. And yes, you can put a CHE in the same fixtures you would use for a heat bulb(but not for regular bulbs!)

That said, I personally wouldn't bother with a heat source if your ambient temperatures are as you say...Unless you expect the night temps to fall below 69 at some point.

SnoopySnake · 02-14-16, 06:21 PM

Lol not a regular fixture but yeah

I don't know exactly how low my temps are getting in the night, I just know my temps are dropping down at least to 69 because I wake up in the morning and that's what the thermometer in here reads. So basically I just want a CHE set to like 74 at night as a precaution. However, my dad is fixing the insulation in the house tomorrow or the next day so that should take care of the problem. If not I think I'm gonna get the CHE and thermostat.

**EL Ziggy** · 02-14-16, 07:24 PM

This is the one I used with my CHE.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Deluxe...me+with+dimmer

Zelg · 03-07-16, 04:25 PM

I've used a dimmer before. It was just a light switch dimmer. The problem, aside from temp spikes/drops and not being able to adjust automatically, was that the dimmer wouldnt go very low...and by low, I mean it would only drop the heat pade to like 92 degrees. I had it under a glass tank with about 3-4 inches of substrate (to prevent burns and overheating of my Ball). It sounded like a good idea in my head at the time but theres too many variables that a dimmer will not cover.

A thermostat will always heat when it gets too cold and turn off when it gets too warm and you have set temps for when either option is triggered.

If you have a few cold days and then you suddenly have a warm day but its cool when you go to work, are you going to turn the heat down and hope that the weather forecast is correct and that the daytime temps will be warm? What if you think its going to be a cold day but suddenly at 2 pm when you're working, its 85 degrees and your lamp is set at a higher temp? Your snake will cook and raise the cage into the 90s or possibly 100s.

I got lucky with my ball a couple times when I had his first setup.

Thermostat all the way.