Vivarium help, a few questions and some of my info

[Ninehand]

Hello I'm new here, I'm building a 40 gallon vivarium out of six panels of 1/8 showcase glass (was able to get it cheap), and wood (mainly plywood).
I made the frame out of the plywood then set the glass panels in and used a silicone caulk to join them at the seams. Here a few pics.
https://picasaweb.google.com/1157819...eat=directlink

My first question is how do people with glass topped enclosures use heat lamps? are they safe do use above the glass? do you have to drill a massive hole to allow lamp heat to be expelled into tank? If heat lamps are not a viable option what is another efficient source of heating? As you can see from at least one of the pictures I am using a zoo med under tank heating element this has been running for a while to help the curing process of the caulk and heats the bottom well, I plan on having another on the back glass panel to give some heat through the background.

second question does anyone have a good misting or fogging setup for an enclosure like this, my tank will be almost air tight and will have humid air pumped into it, I am also going to run a drip to supply my anole with running water as well as give some extra water to the pool area for the fauna, the pool will be allowed to overflow the surrounding area will be frog moss which thrives in damp humid environments.

thirdly will my current plan for backdrop and other tank deco work with the setup i have made? I plan on making the backdrop out of foam insulation board with quikcrete coating (although a wire mesh with same setup just occurred to me)I want to cut some holes in it to fill with soil for some hanging flora. The foam I am not sure will allow heat from a rear mounted heating pad to pass through as it's supposed to insulate... that being said the other idea i just thought of with the mostly hollow back wire mesh could let more heat to the soil and passively heat the wall. I have also made a facade mine shaft out of great stuff insulation foam and craft sticks it has working led lights etc looks legit. I would like to have it in the middle of the tank effectively separating the damp and dry sides, my only concern is will the moisture affect the foam/wood even will a sealant?

I know thats a lot to take in but responses would be greatly appreciated!

[Ninehand]

I was really hoping someone on this forum would know the answers to my questions, it seems as though the community is somewhat selective. If someone does know please message me at my email jessehawks@gmail.com as I will probably not be checking back here.

[MartinM]

If you have a water-feature and/or sump in your system you can use a submersible aquarium heater to heat the water, which in turn heats the rest of your system.

It may be that reading some of the existing threads on the forum would answer your other questions.

Martin