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Fish Moderator
 
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Mr. David Lass I would like to read your opinion on this, because you are a wholesaler and deal with these matters all day long.
This is the only way I know how to ask you and anyone else for that matter a question. I have been reading a book on planted aquariums and came across heating cable for the substrate. Have you ever heard of, used this product. If so what did you think of it. It says it is better than the submersible and mat style and also cheaper in the long run uses less power to maintain temp and also won't electrocute you if it breaks or tears open due to the low voltage required. Again what do you and any one else think about this product.
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer 40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
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I personally would not want to use one in my planted aquariums or other aquariums. They do say they are great for planted aquariums. I just can not see taking that cable out of the aquarium each time it broke. My luck I would have to redo my aquarium setup all over again? 
Mr. Miracle Grow” for aquarium plants Help those in our hobby to exceed beyond their expectations.  Logistical Aquatic Engineer
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Fish Moderator
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That is what I was thinking as well especially after the plants become wrapped around the cord. Just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this type of heater.
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WISH
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Senior Member
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| I discussed cable heating in my June 2010 AFI Aquabotanist column. It covered your questions plus more. It is a very interesting topic. Good question. SGN
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Fish Moderator
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I can not find a copy of the article can you post or pm me a copy?
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WISH
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| Sure, I will see if AFI will post the column for you. In summary, I wrote that after experimenting with substrate cable heating, I was unable to tell the difference in plant growth between substrate heating systems and tanks that were heated solely with traditional heaters. One possible reason is all of my tanks rest on thick Styrofoam sheets significantly reducing heat loss through the bottom glass. I really researched this topic and was only able to find anecdotal support for these heaters. I could not find any peer reviewed, empirical evidence proving they are better for growing plants. It is quite possible that these things work with some substrates and certain species, but again, there are no ‘hard numbers’ proving they are better for growing plants. From a heating perspective, they are sort of cool. They do evenly heat the substrate and are out of the way which is nice for show tanks. I never broke a cable. With a plant tank, you really don’t jam a gravel cleaner in the substrate as one might do with a fish only aquarium. My plants never became hopelessly entangled the cables but I suppose it is possible. When compared to traditional heating, substrate heating is significantly more expensive. This is a really interesting topic. Hope this helps. SGN
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I am looking forward to reading this article written due to the fact that no one has thought of researching this subject. I hope they put a link into a post where it is easy to find. Thank You SGN for all of your information.
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WISH
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If you are heating the substrate directly are you actually not depleting the oxygen level in the substrate. And Also If you are using the cable does it heat the whole tank or do you have to use a standard heater defeating the cost saving measures claimed by the cable heating manufactures?
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WISH
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If you are heating the substrate directly are you actually not depleting the oxygen level in the substrate. And Also If you are using the cable does it heat the whole tank or do you have to use a standard heater defeating the cost saving measures claimed by the cable heating manufactures?
Excellent questions. Is there a depletion of oxygen? I don't know, but probably not. The idea of substrate heating cables is to create water movement through convection and provide a continuous flow of nutrients to the roots. But plant root activity regulates necessary water flow without substrate heating ie. oxygen taken in through leaves (and created by photosynthesis) is sent to the roots and released into the substrate. Again, I couldn't tell the difference between using the cables and regular heating. The plants did not seem better or worse with or without it. Actually, if you don't need to heat the tank much above ambient temperature, a substrate cable will work fine by it self. But if your room is 68 degrees the substrate heater would not be enough to bring a tank up to say, 78-degrees. One other thing, if your fish room is usually warm, the chances are the substrate heating will only 'kick on' in the Winter months. I discovered this early on when I noticed the cables were not running during the summer. As I mentioned earlier, these things could work but no one has (or is willing to share) any hard numbers to prove it. I put a cold air intake on one of my cars a few years ago in order to gain the 15 extra horsepower as promised. I wasn't born with an accelerometer and couldn't tell the difference at all. Did it work? I wanted it to work. At full throttle, it was supposed to deliver the extra 'ponies' but I couldn't tell. I think substrate cable heaters could be much like the cold air intake. To their credit, the manufacturers of the cold air intake provided hard numbers to support their product. Good discussion! SGN
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Fish Moderator
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So it is unfortunate that if you have to increase the temp in the tank say to 82-83 degrees like a Discus tank the heating cable will not be able to maintain the temp. Thus creating the need for alternative heating. I have a Planted Discus tank and living in Canada I have to have the heater running 24-7 even in the summer months When the hottest Day of the Year is only around 85. Does the heating of the substrate create a better growth due to better water circulation around the roots? Does it allow the root to collect so to speak more nutrients for the growth process? Does it create an attraction of nutrients like moths to a light at night. This would be a life long study. By the way who do I call to buy the back issue Of the column SGN wrote in AFI? PM me if you wish
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http://board.fishchannel.com/Topic208662-16-1.aspx
Fish keeping is not a hobby but a way of lifeBuilding a 135 gallon reef tankBarracuda 4300gph by sequence pumpBuilt an 8 bulb 55 watt 10,000 k light with 4.5 watt moon light30 gallon sump with a 30 gal. remote refugemini bubble king EV180 Protein skimmer40 gallon Planted 4 Altum Flora Discus
11 plants ,4 Ghost shrimp,1 Clown & 1 Bristol nose Pleco1 Zebra Apple SnailEhiem 2213 canister filterHydor 425 powerheadEhiem Jager 200 watt heatert-5 compact 6500k lightNeptune Systems Aquacontroller jr
PLEASE PM ME IF YOU WISH
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