HELP!! heatmat advice,low temp in tank!!

[ter153]

hi all
i need to get a heatmat,but im confused by what ton get,how many watts should it be?,im using one just now thats 7 watts and not big enough to heat mt tank which is just over 21 degrees which is too cold i know,humidity is hust about 80.some mats say they heat the substrate and ornaments but not the air.can someone advise me on what type and make of heatmat is best,poor snails must be cold,have checked them,and put them on their food,now theyre hiding again.my house does not have central heating thats why i need a mat,will the snails be ok if theyre under moss etc?

[Bumblebee]

Well how many watts to get all depends on how big your tank is. A heatmat should cover half the tank, just so that there will be a cooler and a warmer side.
Im not sure if it matters what sort of heatmat you get, do you have your mat placed beneth the tank or on the side of it? You could also try and push either some bubbleplastic or polystyrene really hard against the mat to try and force some more heat into the tank.

Alternative get a heatlamp My tank is a bit chilly too despite the heatmat i got, so gonna get a heatlamp at the beginning of february.
A backup solution you could use untill you get more heat for the tank, is to use a bottle or bucket (with lid ofc) of hotwater, bad thing about that is that it will need to be changed very often to stay warm

[ter153]

thankyou bumblebee for your reply,tank is 3 foot long,i foot depth,the heat mat is very small,not nearly big enough.i ve moved the tank now so maybe that will help hopefuly,thanks again for your advice

[danikat]

One thing I found helped was putting a blanket under the tank. It insulated the heat mat so all the heat travelled up into the tank instead of into the floor.

[infiltraitor]

Heatmats from different companies all seem to be about the same size based on their rating. For a tank the size you've got, I'd go with about a 20W mat, as that will cover approximately half the back of your tank. I've used Habistat, Ultratherm and Exo-Terra mats; can't complain about any of them.

You'll find other advice regarding heatmats on this forum, though conventional wisdom appears to state;

1) Mount the heatmat on the side of the tank, and outside rather than inside or under; your snails shouldn't get harmed this way.

2) Attach polystyrene, foil, bubblewrap or whatever on the back side of the heatmat to reflect heat into the tank rather than losing it to the room. I found several layers of radiator reflective foil/foam was excellent for this job.

3) Insulate the tank from underneath (as Danikat suggested) as this will prevent heat loss from below.

4) Try and cover the majority of the vents in the tank lid with clingfilm or similar (on the outside) - this helps keep humidity levels up, and also helps prevent heat escaping.

5) Keep your tank off of the floor; hot air rises, cold air falls, etc... Better to have your tank away from where it's coldest.

[ter153]

thanks danikat and infiltraitor for your replies,ill follow your advice see how things go,im going to order a bigger heat mat,thanks for the great advice