What about using a ball of plants like Hornwort, and or Anacharis? They will suck up the nitrates/phosphate extremely fast, and grow very quickly. Would be the same concept as using chaeto in a sw fuge. Plus you can trade your cuttings in to your lfs for fish food. :)
I haven't done this personaly with a fw tank, however I know people who have done this with great success. Get some freshwater clams for it. Talk about amazing biological filtration!
That has been my biggest concern with trying this heater. For a koi pond it would be no big deal, but for something more sensitive to temperature fluctuation it could be disastrous. If you dont mind me asking how much $ is the heater and shield?
Not trying to hijack the OP thread, I will start a new thread on this topic if you prefer. However, I would also like to know more about this. Can anyone shed a little more light on this?
Resurrecting this thread... Looking for some more input. Has anyone tried using this Koi pond heater? ^^^ Its a 1.5KW unit, I have one, however I just havent tried it out yet.
Has anyone tried the "peace river" substrate by caribsea? It is a very fine smooth gravel. Thinking about trying this in my new setup.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+9805+21412&pcatid=21412