Do you use a sustrate heater?

Do you use a substrate heater?

  • No

    Votes: 64 95.5%

  • Yes

    Votes: 3 4.5%

  • Yes, but I don't think it made a difference.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    67
I'm not planning on using one because I'm assuming the two 300watt heaters I have will keep my water to around 80 degrees F. My house is usually a standard 74. So the entire environment surrounding the substrate is going to be approximately the same temperature I'm shooting for.

I may have missed the part of physical science where my substrate is going to be significantly less but that was my theory on whether or not to invest in a substrate heater. If A is warm, and B is warm, C should stay equally warm.

Of course I used a similar logic with my lighting and flunked so YMMV :grinyes:
 
First of.....i do not use a substrate heater (and am researching this topic now). This entire thread has missed one important aspect of substrate heating. One of the goals is to improve water circulation in the substrate (especially if you use sand or soil). The water circulation definitely will help reduce the development of anerobic bacteria and deadly gases in the sand substrate. Currently many people do this by periodically disturbing the sand or by keeping livestock of substrate diggers.

I dont take any side on how useful these are for plants. But, i am contemplating the use of substrate heaters even in unplanted tanks...... mostly because it might help people who are too lazy to periodically stir sand to avoid compaction. To certain degree the water circulation that is present in a heated substrate will delay the compaction. To this end, i think substrate heaters can be used in unplanted tanks which use sand. I looked into buying one now for my new tank, and found that they cost a bunch.

The idea is to keep the bottom layer of the water heated constantly a few degrees more than sorroundings. This will create water circulation at the bottom layer, thus helping in delaying compaction and avoiding the anerobic bacteria buildup in sand / soil substrates. These are my thoughts based on my research so far. I do not plan on a planted tank for the next one, but i am seriously contemplating a $40 Redsea substrate heater which is the cheapest i found. Comments welcome.
 
Why bother?
Cables are to help pull water down there due to the accumulation of organic waste and matter from above.

They also pull it down at a pretty slow rate.
If you are "concerned", use a UG filter, you'll get far far better results as far as the amount of bioload. You can alos use a Reverse flow UG filter pipe grid using CPVC 1/2 pipe and powerhead.

cost: 10$ or so and a drill. Drill 1/16th to 3/32nd holes every 1-2" on the bottom of the piping grid.
Add powerhead flow.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
Great idea Tom. You got me thinking of UGF and i looked into the cost of a cheap system. I found Lees "original UGF" setup for about $10 online and i just need to add a powerhead. This is meant to run as standard UGF, but i guess i could modify it to pump water through the UG plate. What do u think ? My only concern would be to control the flow of the water, so that the sand does not kicked up by water being forced from under. I have a maxijet 400 that pumps about 80gph and this water would flow through a 36x12 UG plate and there would be sand on top about 1 inch at least and at places about 2 inches. I would have no way of knowing how much water is needed for proper circulation because once the aquarium is water filled the weight of the water on top would counteract the pressure coming from bottom through the maxijet 400. The only signal i would get is if the sand is all starting to move up a bit in which case i know the pressure is too much.

I also had another idea and i would love to see your comments on this one. My intension is to get a 2" layer of substrate. I was thinking of putting pea gravel at bottom for 1" then cover the whole layer with fine nylon mesh. Add on top of this fine mesh nylon a layer of 1" of sand that i really want top. This would keep the sand from falling through and compacting and also the depth of sand would be minimized. Also there would be good water circulation at the bottom of nylon mesh because the pea gravels have space in between them. My only worry is that after few months, the nylon mesh would get all plugged up by the sand, and the water wont reach the pea gravel at all after that.
 
On the substrate heater question:

I used them for five years or so and the results were similar to those experienced by Tom. After some prompting by RTR I did some actual tests over a two-year period and found that the only benefit was to the folks that sold the heating cables.

On UGF and RUGF:
I've used both in planted tanks and am currently using both on planted tanks. The rooted plants seem to do as well in those as in non-UGF sustems.

Conclusion:

I think it's much more about your lighting/fert/carbon/filter/water change regimen than what you're doing under the substrate.

Don't waste your money on substrate heaters, spend it on good lighting and plants in stead.

Mark
 
Thanks mark, for your comments. I have gotten away from the idea of using heating cables. My tank is going to be fish only tank and no plants. So, i am going with pool filter sand (mesh #12 or #16) and at depths from 1 inch to 2 inch. A DSB wont work with this kind of substrate and perhaps not needed for freshwater. I was thinking of adding a RUGF to this to circulate water to avoid aneropic pockets developing. Seems like a bit of overkill, but all i need is a $15 investment which is minor compared to my other parts. How long have u used RUGF in your tanks ? How deep are your substrates ?
 
I've been using RUGF in my 55 gal. n. Pulcher tank for three years now. I have anubius Barteri, crypt. Wendtii bronze, crypt. spiralis, java fern and sagittaria subulata in the tank. My substrate in this tank is about 3" deep, but is a blasting sand, size "0", or ought. There is a local gravel co. that has a larger screen than conventional blasting sand and it's perfect for UGF and RUGF. A local fish store called Aqua Zoo sells it in the Houston area.

Mark
 
i was wondering about these too. i never thought of the fact that it would help with sand compaction and anaerobic pockets/water flow.
i have a planted tank with very fine, heavy sand.
would this really help the anaerobic pockets? im not too 'lazy' to stir the sand, i just dont like to screw up my plant roots and scape really.
so has anyone ever used one of these with sand?

also, the simluating the natural environment thing..
if the sand/substrate in a pond/river/lake is getting heated enough in the day that it stays warmer than the water temp at night(which id guess is what it would do.. the water would cool off a bit and the substrate would stay warmer for a little while).. the bottom has to be heating up somehow. SUN, der. and the sun would be hitting the tops of the plants just as much as the substrate, and the plants leaves would be the first to feel the warmth from the sun... from ABOVE, not below. it would take a bit for the substrate and roots to equally heat up. soo.. unless it was very specifically timed through expirimentation, i doubt itd simulate the natural environment.
sorry for the caps, just trying to have my main points stick out lol.

but... has anyone ever used one with sand? any results?
 
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