Stealth Heater

[brich999]

one thing i tried seem to work was a reptile tank warming pad. it was only like 50w but kept the temp up a bit and warmed through the substrate which is good for plants. it didnt have temp setting and was on 24 hrs a day but it kept my 7.5 gallon tank around 78-82 when ambient air is around 65-70

 

[mr.bigglesworth]

Most of them actually said it did nothing for increasing plant growth but did raise overall temperature. If you raised the temperature of the water below the gravels surface it would have an overall effect on the entire contents. Unless you think that the wateer below the gravels surface simply sits and does not mix with the rest of the contents.

Listen to Dan on wattage. Five watts per gallon is standard. Get a small enough heater and hide it inside a large hollow ornament if you need it to be invisible and the other options are not to your liking.

But what about sand? Gravel would surely work but home depot play sand? Its super fine grain...

 

[doomiedee]

This, and I've also had ones before that are similar to what you use in a reptile tank, they're pads that stick under the tank and heat from below similar to what doomiedee mentioned.

I've had one of those sticker type heaters on my ball pythons tank. It works good with reptiles but not Aquariums as mentioned. There's a pic of the one I was talking about. Its called hydrokable heater cable. Petsolutions.com is the only site I know that sells em.

Sent from my Comet

 

[krichardson]

Who always told you that?

...

Several members on MFK. Who seemed like they knew what they were talking about... guess not.

Lol.

 

[dragonfish]

But what about sand? Gravel would surely work but home depot play sand? Its super fine grain...

No difference. Had a planted tank for years with HD play sand and no change in temps or growth of plants. Biggest problem is the dust.