undergravel heater?

[son2fu]

is an under gravel heater required for plants???
its the kind that looks like a wire
it has coils in it that i suppose heat up.

[phanmc]

No, they don't really offer any benefit over a regular heater either.

[Mgamer20o0]

i think regular heater do a better job and cause less of a mess.

[fishmark]

Under Gravel heaters can be of great benefit, to opften a standard submersible heater will only heat the surrounding water and temperatures measured below the gravel can be considerably less, some plants such as crypts prefer the substrate to be heated this helps to greatly encourage root growth and allows for better nutrient uptake due to increased surface area achieved.

[kjf91004]

Good post fishmark. You hit it right on the head. Here is more info from George Booth about the matter:
http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Articles/PAM_Substrate.htm

[Rex Grigg]

Sorry kids. But Tom Barr has blown this one completely out of the water. Substrate heaters are the LAST thing you should buy and are considered more of a gadget than anything else.

[J double R]

seems like it would be a big hassle getting them untangled from roots and whatnot as well.

[Mgamer20o0]

seems like it would be a big hassle getting them untangled from roots and whatnot as well.

thats a big part of the mess i was talking about. the roots can wrap their self around it and basically have to tear them to get them off.