PVC Heater guard

[stingraymond]

Get black or gray PVC.

Make many slits in it with a regular chop saw (you can make the slits look fancy by setting the saw to 45*). This will ensure good heat flow.

If you pull some plastic plants off of their bases, you will see the are usually not glued on, but have a barb.

Drill some holes in it the same size as the barbs on the bottom of the plastic plants. Stick the plant barbs in the holes and you are good to go. No glue needed.

 

[Just Toby]

Water flow IS the key and he is getting it, the flow of water quickly disperses the heat and stops the PVC melting, plus the PVC will not melt anyway.

You can buy heater guards off the shelf here, I am sure you can buy them in the us, or buy an inline heater for your cannnsiter filter or better still get a sump and put heaters in there.

If you cut enough slots in the heater guard and do notnhave the heater actually touching the glass of the heater then you will be fine.

The reasons rays burn on heaters is due to direct contact and rays are damaged at lower temps than PVC...you can scar your hand with a kettle but you will not melt a plastic plate.

 

[nmadsen4]

Water flow IS the key and he is getting it, the flow of water quickly disperses the heat and stops the PVC melting, plus the PVC will not melt anyway.

You can buy heater guards off the shelf here, I am sure you can buy them in the us, or buy an inline heater for your cannnsiter filter or better still get a sump and put heaters in there.

If you cut enough slots in the heater guard and do notnhave the heater actually touching the glass of the heater then you will be fine.

The reasons rays burn on heaters is due to direct contact and rays are damaged at lower temps than PVC...you can scar your hand with a kettle but you will not melt a plastic plate.

this and the answer that Pharaoh gave are the ones I was looking for. people have posted about melting the bottom of rubbermaids when heating for a water change, so I was concerned this might happen. However I assume that those people were not sticking a power head in the rubbermaid lol. So as long as I keep the flow going well the heat directly on the pvc will not be an issue.

 

[Just Toby]

Yes, you are correct.

Good luck.

If you want to buy some heater guards designed for the hobby but cannot find them over there I am happy to buy them here and post them to you at cost.

 

[nmadsen4]

Yes, you are correct.

Good luck.

If you want to buy some heater guards designed for the hobby but cannot find them over there I am happy to buy them here and post them to you at cost.

thats a nice gesture, it was kind of a project i wanted to try out so I didnt want to just buy one. I checked the search function and couldnt find anyone that posted a thread of glued or connected plants to a pvc guard so i thought I'd give it a shot.

 

[Just Toby]

No probs.

Post up some pics when your have made it

 

[soupa2]

I built an in-line heater assembly for my tank out of PVC. As long as there is some flow, you don't have to worry about it overheating. Yes, the heater will get a bit hotter than the water, but any major increase will disperse throughout the aquarium with just the flow of the filters. You should be fine.

Hey Pharaoh, can you please explain how you assembled your inline heater? i'm curious on it since i have my tank in the basement and it drops to 55degs F in the winter time. the tank must be at 80-82 but my two 300W heater isnt cutting it. both of the in tank heaters are controlled by a 1000W controller.. now i have asked the inline heater Hydor tech and he told me in order for it to work with their product i have split my output of my filter into two outlets. the tech said that i can not put the heater inline with the same one outlet of the filter output.. so i'm very interested in how you "made" your inline.. thanks in advance. pic would very appreciated also..

 

[Pharaoh]

Hey Pharaoh, can you please explain how you assembled your inline heater? i'm curious on it since i have my tank in the basement and it drops to 55degs F in the winter time. the tank must be at 80-82 but my two 300W heater isnt cutting it. both of the in tank heaters are controlled by a 1000W controller.. now i have asked the inline heater Hydor tech and he told me in order for it to work with their product i have split my output of my filter into two outlets. the tech said that i can not put the heater inline with the same one outlet of the filter output.. so i'm very interested in how you "made" your inline.. thanks in advance. pic would very appreciated also..

Check the last page or two. I talk about it there. If you have any specific questions, ask them there and I'll try and answer for you.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146900

 

[soupa2]

very simply to DIY job.. thanks for the ideas.. pictures are a thousand words..
thanks again..

 

[freeze]

go to lowes and buy abs pipe and fittings . It's like pvc , but it's black . do not usu glue