# Heat mat and stat not working



## GarethTheTwit (May 9, 2015)

Hello.

I have set up a 10 gallon aquarium tank for a pacman frog (yet to purchase). I have a 13watt heat mat on the outside side (not insulated) hooked up to to a stat. I can't get the temperature to above 24c. I've tried it without the stat too and it doesn't seem to be going up.

I used to use the stat and a heat mat with my wooden viv and my leopard gecko which worked fine for a year until suddenly the temperature in the viv dropped to around 23. I replaced the heat mat but that didn't help. I'm currently using the new heat mat I bought.

Any suggestions? Could the stat be broken (but why is it not heating up without it, shouldn't it be going up loads without it?). Do I need to insulate with polystyrene?

Thanks.


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## Badgerroy (Mar 16, 2015)

In my opinion a 13w heat mat isn't enough to heat a glass tank. Glass has just about zero ablitly to store heat so where as in a wooden viv the heat will buildup to the required temp then switch of, In a glass viv the heat will just go up to the temp the mats able to go to which would seem to be 24c. I can't see how it could be your stat as you've said it won't go up higher even when plugged direct into the wall. Iv got a Brazilian rainbow boa which needs high humidity so is in a big glass viv and iv insulated the back and sides with rock effect polystyrene and the top with a sheet of plain polystyrene.i found that was the only way to keep the heat in.


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## GarethTheTwit (May 9, 2015)

Thanks for the advice. Do you know if you can have 2 heat mats off one stat as I have 2 heat mats or maybe one heat mat on a stat one without.


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## Badgerroy (Mar 16, 2015)

GarethTheTwit said:


> Thanks for the advice. Do you know if you can have 2 heat mats off one stat as I have 2 heat mats or maybe one heat mat on a stat one without.


Ooo if you ask a question like that it's likely to cause a fight lol. Most say 1 stat per Heater, others say it's ok to put multiple heaters on a stat. Personally I'm a stickler for 1 stat per Heater and I'd NEVER use any heating in a viv without a stat. It's not worth the risk. If you haven't got the frog yet what I'd do is with the empty viv do exactly what iv advised you not to do and connect the 2 mats to the 1 stat. If that brings the viv up to temp ok then go out and buy a higher wattage heat mat then lose the 2 mats and replace with the new higher wattage mat.


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## GarethTheTwit (May 9, 2015)

Badgerroy said:


> Ooo if you ask a question like that it's likely to cause a fight lol. Most say 1 stat per Heater, others say it's ok to put multiple heaters on a stat. Personally I'm a stickler for 1 stat per Heater and I'd NEVER use any heating in a viv without a stat. It's not worth the risk. If you haven't got the frog yet what I'd do is with the empty viv do exactly what iv advised you not to do and connect the 2 mats to the 1 stat. If that brings the viv up to temp ok then go out and buy a higher wattage heat mat then lose the 2 mats and replace with the new higher wattage mat.


Tha you so much for your help. What's the worst that could happen if I run 2 mats an an extension running off one stat. Thank you again you're super helpful.


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## Badgerroy (Mar 16, 2015)

GarethTheTwit said:


> Tha you so much for your help. What's the worst that could happen if I run 2 mats an an extension running off one stat. Thank you again you're super helpful.


Burn your house down, cook your frog,blow your stat. Take your pick really. It's really not advisable. A new higher wattage heat mat will set you back about £15. 
For that it's just not worth the risk.


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## GarethTheTwit (May 9, 2015)

So I've not worked out that my old heat mat doesn't work and my other heat mat is only 8.5 watts so I'm getting a new heat mat. What wattage do I need? 20-30?


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## Badgerroy (Mar 16, 2015)

Depends on the size of the viv really. It wants to cover 1/2 to 3/4 of the viv if going under the viv. I tend to go bigger and put them on the back and sides of the viv rather than the bottom though to avoid burning the beauty inside if the mat goes mad and over heats.


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## GarethTheTwit (May 9, 2015)

My heat mat covers the whole of the side of the tank, maybe it needs insulating better


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## Badgerroy (Mar 16, 2015)

In my opinion a heat mat will not be enough to keep a glass viv at a good constant temp unless you insulate it. Use polystyrene sheets and carve a rock patten on them then paint them or if your like me and have the artistry of a root vegetable then just buy ready made polystyrene backing. It makes the viv look better as well as insulating it.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

can you post a picture of the setup (try tinypic.com for a simple way to upload and then get the code to post)


how much substrate are you trying to heat? if its more than a couple of cm, you will have trouble using a mat to heat it

is there an air gap below the heat mat? (ie the glass tank should be lifted up a few mm, the heat mat should not be trapped hard between the glass and the surface its sitting on) - this can result in overheating if not


you need to test the mat and the thermostat...

run the mat by itself (just leave it on a non-flammable surface, without the thermostat, check it after ~40mins, see what temp it reaches, if above 40C, then the mat is probably ok


to test the thermostat, if the mat works, then plug the mat into the thermostat, again on the non-flammable surface, not attached to the viv - and see if you can get a temp set by the thermostat (attach the thermostat probe directly to the mat, along with a thermometer probe)


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