I plan on building a hatchling rack tomorrow and I’ve been looking at YouTube for some advice but need some more advice, When setting up heating in the racks should I use a parallel heat setup with each heat tape having its own power cord, or is it better to use a single power source for the entire rack? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each option? I like the ideal of having each heat strip cut the same and power cord coming out the back plugged into a surge protector and the surge protector plugged into the thermostat instead of routing a big s down the rack. Any help would be appreciated, also thinking of going with 4 in heat tape instead of 3 in due to lower temps in my house. Does anyone use 4 in for hatchling racks?
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Reason being I’m also needing to build some racks at some point.
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How many rows are you doing and how big of tubs? That is important to consider for when deciding.
The pros to each row having its own plug is it is more accurate in controlling temperature and if something does happen for any reason, it only affects one row meaning less expensive medical bills/deaths. However it is also more expensive and having more stuff being plugged in increases the chance of a fire or other issue by a small amount. And if you cut the heat tape wrong then that could be a very dangerous situation.
Having one continuous piece of heat tape is cheaper and quicker but it is harder to keep temperature consistent throughout in some cases.
I think the best option is to have a section for every 3-5 rows but you should weigh the risk vs reward for both and come to the decision for yourself.
And as long as the babies can get away from the heat easily than 4 inch heat tape should be ok, but tub size would be a big factor.
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I was thinking 6qt tubs 3 per row and 4-5 rows am I better off just running the heat through out? I mean to be honest I don’t ever plan on having it all filled at least for a few years, I only have 2 females I plan on trying to breed this year.
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I usually use individual heat mats for my racks. Tape is hard to get here.
But for something small enough for hatchlings I find heat cable works well.
The type used for plant seedlings.
I have a 4 wide by 10 deep with one heat cable. (with a dimmer stat)
The cable goes along the back and I use some aluminum tape over it to spread the heat over the first third in a graduated fashion.
One cable of the required length does it.
It gives a nice gradient in a small tub and is really reliable.
Mine has been going for decades and the hatchlings do well.
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I appreciate your reply, i’ve decided I’m going to do each shelf has it’s own heat, so that brings me to my next question, do i have to get a certain type of surge protector for the Ve-200 to kick off the heat?
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I don’t think there are certain surge protectors that are used more than others when it comes to thermostats. Just having a surge protector is a great start.
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2 females can fill them 15 tubs easy
I just had 2 this year lay 11 and 8. Good luck
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