about thermostats

alessia55 · 10-09-11, 08:15 AM

Most of them I've found have a probe that needs to be placed by the heat source so it can read the temperature. But these probes are attached by a long cable that's attached to the thermostat, like this one:

It has a plug that goes into the wall, a probe (the bottom cable), and an outlet where you plug in the heat mat.

My question is... how can I close my tank if I have to have the probe in there?? My 40 gal is one of those "snake proof" ones that has a lid that locks into place. There's no holes or anything for a snake to get out of... much less a cable. So I don't see how I could use these in a tank. Can someone clue me in?

marvelfreak · 10-09-11, 08:22 AM

Can we see a pictures of your lid. A lot of them have place for cord to go.

alessia55 · 10-09-11, 10:04 AM

I'm home right now for a few days (FL) and my snake is in PA (where I go to college) so I can't take a picture of the exact cage, but this photo shows someone else's (pulled from google images) and it's the EXACT same tank (but mine's bigger).

Lankyrob · 10-09-11, 10:41 AM

My thermostat probes sit in the viv under the heatlamp, i widen one of the holes in the air vents with a screwdeiver and then feed the probe through into the viv - am guessing that you have an aquarium set up tho???

Kiljosh · 10-09-11, 12:35 PM

I have a 20 gal aquarium tank with a screen top. What I did....

If you take the screen top off the tank, there is a plastic piece that goes around the edges of the glass. The screen top slides over this and the locks snap under the lip. I just used a razor knife to notch an opening to run my probe wires through. The wires lay in this notch and aren't crimped our anything when I put the top on.

It makes it easier to cut and looks a lot nicer if you warm the plastic with a heat gun. I suppose you could just score a notch in the plastic with a soldering iron, if you didn't mind the smell of burning plastic.

whoaxmary · 10-09-11, 02:12 PM

Can't see your picture? Might be the computer I'm on....buuut.....depending on what type of enclosure you have. Alot of screen tops with have a space at each corner of the edge for wires to sit. Other tanks will have premade places for wires to go if needed, either open, or sometimes they'll be a spot where you can 'pop' a piece of plastic or whatever out for a wire to slide through.

Gungirl · 10-09-11, 08:59 PM

Why don't you attach the prob to the bottom of the tank between the heat mat and the glass? that way the snake cant move it around...

alessia55 · 10-09-11, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gungirl

Why don't you attach the prob to the bottom of the tank between the heat mat and the glass? that way the snake cant move it around...

Ohhhh... this is a good idea

Lankyrob · 10-10-11, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gungirl

Why don't you attach the prob to the bottom of the tank between the heat mat and the glass? that way the snake cant move it around...

Wont work with a heat bulb tho - the probe needs to be under the light in this case.

**millertime89** · 10-10-11, 11:04 AM

I just run it under the lip of the top and weigh the top down so Nero can't climb out. If its done right there's no room for them to climb out. You've got balls which are quite a bit heavier bodied than BRBs so I can't imagine that would be a problem.