Heat Lights?

[Salt and Pepper]

I have a UTH and my Substrate is 2 inches deep (and 3 on the other side). It doesn't seem to warm it or make the tank humid no matter how much I mist the tank. Ift just stays reakl hot in that area. The crabs just stay on the other side where I have no heating. I've heard about lights, but then I heard they were bad- they didn't produce enough heat. The UTH is also cracking the bottom of the tank. I don't really think it helps. It also stays at a constant (unknown) temperature and it isn't adjustable. My crabs avoid it. Are heat lamps effeicient? Do I need one? Do both sides need to be warm and humid? Can I have both a UTH and Heater? Can I have one on each side? Is my UTH helping? Why don't my crabs like it? Should I keep it on all day? And of humidity, I have a Mesh Lid. My dad knows where he can get cheap PlexiGlas, in fact he works at Lowe's, but he needs to measure the tank. I've tried books but it's too hard to take them off for daily misting, and giving water and food. It also didn't make the tank any more humid then it was- bone dry. My topic isn't about humidity though. Neither is it about UTHsI. It's about are Heat Lamps good or not?
I have a ZooMed Reptile 10 Gallon UTH on one side of my tank. What brand Heat Lamp light should I get?

[ladybug15057]

Please do refer to the crab care section, this answers your questions about temps and your other questions. As for the UTH, unless you do not have anything under the tank holding it up off of the UTH, or are spilling cool water over the glass on the UTH the glass would not be cracking.
For your question about heat lights, (thought you said in another thread you were out of money?) typing in "Heat light" in the search box in the upper right corner of the forum brought up quite a few threads:
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[Salt and Pepper]

Both my tank and UTH are on the ground. Just curious, what watt of heat light would you use?

[CrabbyJo]

You really need to address the UTH situation first Saltandpepper. It sounds like you need to elevate the tank so there is some airflow underneath it.
you also need to get a kitchen thermometer that you can poke into the substrate to see just how hot that UTH is making it. If your crabs are avoiding it, it sounds like the best thing to do is just unplug it and leave it off if you have no thermostat to regulate the temperature.

You say the humidity is bone dry... what is the humidity reading most of the time when you check the tank? I know your question isn't about humidity, but it is important when talking about heating, since heat affects the humidity very much.

If you use just a heat lamp for heat (unplug the UTH), then 25 to 40 watts should be plenty for a 10 gallon. Just make sure to get a moon glo bulb, because other bulbs will mess up their day/night cycle.
Do have your dad measure and get plexi glass for the lid, too. Heck, you could measure it yourself, it doesn't matter if it's exact, since it will just rest on top so you can slide it back and forth.
Also, I bet your dad would be proud of you for taking initiative and being responsible enough to measure it up for him.

[Salt and Pepper]

You really need to address the UTH situation first Saltandpepper. It sounds like you need to elevate the tank so there is some airflow underneath it.
you also need to get a kitchen thermometer that you can poke into the substrate to see just how hot that UTH is making it. If your crabs are avoiding it, it sounds like the best thing to do is just unplug it and leave it off if you have no thermostat to regulate the temperature.

You say the humidity is bone dry... what is the humidity reading most of the time when you check the tank? I know your question isn't about humidity, but it is important when talking about heating, since heat affects the humidity very much.

If you use just a heat lamp for heat (unplug the UTH), then 25 to 40 watts should be plenty for a 10 gallon. Just make sure to get a moon glo bulb, because other bulbs will mess up their day/night cycle.
Do have your dad measure and get plexi glass for the lid, too. Heck, you could measure it yourself, it doesn't matter if it's exact, since it will just rest on top so you can slide it back and forth.
Also, I bet your dad would be proud of you for taking initiative and being responsible enough to measure it up for him.

I mean, the tank isn't humid at all. We were calibrating the hygrometer and somebody moved the box and the Hygrometer fell in the saltwater!! Now it doesn't work at all. With that screen lid, there is no humidity at all. And we looked for the tape measure and we can't find it! I think we have a kitchen thermometer, I will definately check!

[CrabbyJo]

Saltandpepper,
just because the hydrometer doesn't work, doesn't mean you don't need to worry about the humidity. It's very important that your crabs have a humid environment. You can do things like placing the fresh water dish over the UTH (but you should be unplugging that, given how hot you say it is) or by putting in some nice moist substrate like Eco earth.

Since the air is so dry in your tank, it's important that your crabs have a deep enough water dish that they can fill their shells with it to help keep their gills moist. Dry gills mean suffocating crabs.

Maybe your mom has a tape measure she uses for sewing, or maybe you can find a ruler somewhere around your house, or bring one home from school. Just some ideas!

[emmac350]

If your humidity gauge fell in water, it won't work anymore. They don't work after being submerged, so you'll need to replace it.

[ladybug15057]

To calibrate a humidity gauge one does not actually use salt water. If one reads the instructions how to calibrate it, all one does is dampen the salt with water until it is a paste form, not a pond of water that a humidity gauge would "Fall into".

[Salt and Pepper]

To calibrate a humidity gauge one does not actually use salt water. If one reads the instructions how to calibrate it, all one does is dampen the salt with water until it is a paste form, not a pond of water that a humidity gauge would "Fall into".

I.meant.damp.saltwater.I.just.refer.to.saltwater.It.was.damp,not.drenched.

[CrabbyJo]

Okay it shouldn't even be saltwater, it should be salt that is damp. There should be no water visible at all, so that if the gauge were to fall into it, it wouldn't hurt it because it was just damp salt. So maybe your salt was too wet anyway? Just getting it clear, since you will be calibrating another gauge in the future.