# Substrate Heating



## Dolly Sprint 16v (29 Dec 2008)

Gang @ Ukaps

Are there any benefits from substrate heaters or Root Therm heater cables, I am hearing mixed opinions regarding these products. 

Regards

Paul


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## Ed Seeley (29 Dec 2008)

It's been a while since this one surfaced again!!!  If you do a search of the forum you should find a few threads going into a fair bit of detail about substrate heating.  Basically I don't know anyone on here who uses them (thought I'm sure one or two will post now!!!  )  As far as I am concerned the only heaters I use under plants are those in the propagator in my greenhouse to get cuttings to strike a bit quicker!  In a tank you don't need them with substrates like Aquasoil, if any.  As soon as the plant's roots have grown they will be moving water in the substrate so rendering any cable redundant IMHO.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (29 Dec 2008)

Ed

I have one in the tank - had it for about 9 months now, I have been advised today that they not much kop now - maybe there is no benefit now because the substrates have improved. 

I'll try a temp test to determine the water temp @ the bottom of the substrate and compare the readings with the water temp above the substrate, when I bought mine I was advise that it would assist the plant growth and help the breakdown of waste products thus helping the substrate bacteria.  

Regards

Paul


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## Ed Seeley (29 Dec 2008)

Well it certainly won't do any harm once it's in (except when you move plants with roots all wrapped around the cables!   ) but I bet you could turn it off and would see no effect at all.  However if it aint broke then my motto is always don't fix it!

The temperature gradients caused will only produce very slow water movements so I'm not sure how effective that movement would be in turning the substrate into a biological filter.  After all an undergravel uses much higher flow rates to be an effective nitrification filter.  There may be some denitrification taking place but we want nitrogen in the water column so it would be counter-productive to have the substrate removing it!!!


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## TDI-line (29 Dec 2008)

Hi Flyfisherman,

i've had 2 Dennerle heating cables in my tank, and really, if i had found this website before i had setup my tank, i would of saved a small fortune. There really is no improvement in growth of roots with or without. 

I removed mine, as there where complications with a smell which should not be there, (due to the convection currents of the cables) and have not looked back since.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2347&p=24696&hilit=dennerle+heating+cables#p24696

Regards,

Dan.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (29 Dec 2008)

Ed & Dan

Please see attached quotation.

JBL ProTemp Basis (250 litre tanks)
Undergravel heating for the planted aquarium 
The moderate warmth of the JBL ProTemp basis undergravel cable generates gentle convection currents, (slowly rising currents caused by warmth), which rise from the base of the aquarium. These convection currents ensure a slow and constant exchange of water and nutrients with the upper levels of aquarium water. 

In this way, the roots of the aquarium plants receive an optimum supply of nutrients from "seepage sources", just as in the natural habitat. The result is luxurious plant growth. At the same time the ground-covering material acts as one large, biological, slow-action filter. 

This is what i have in my tank - bought from Aqua Essential.

Regards

Paul.


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## George Farmer (29 Dec 2008)

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/p ... blogid=123
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/forum/e ... y-not.html
http://www.barrreport.com/general-plant ... ables.html


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## Ed Seeley (29 Dec 2008)

Flyfisherman said:
			
		

> Ed & Dan
> 
> Please see attached quotation.
> 
> ...



No offense intended here mate but that's a company's marketing spiel and is always going to be looking at things from a point of view to sell their product!  After all Guiness isn't really that good for you....

They may well claim that their product does this and it may produce some slow convection currents in the substrate, but do you need them and does that mean you don't get transfer of nutrients into and out of the substrate without them?  Substances in solution will always dissipate around the tank and move around whether there's a heater in the substrate or not.  I'd love to know if, and indeed how, they tested these claims.

As to Aqua Essentials stocking them Richard will always stock these as some people do insist they are needed as they have used them before so Richard is quite rightly supplying a desired item.  I don't know whether he uses them personally or not or recommends them.


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## TDI-line (30 Dec 2008)

More marketing spiel here too.

http://www.dennerle.info/EN/HG09.htm

Sounds good doesn't it, so i bought it lol.    

Did you know in the ADA catalogue, there is a heating tray for under the substrate, but Mr Amano doesn't seem to put this in his show tanks.  

But it's horses for courses basically, i did have the equipment already setup, so i used it, and i saw what would grow and what wouldn't, and after a couple of years decided to change to ADA aquasoil.

regards,

Dan.


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## aaronnorth (30 Dec 2008)

viewtopic.php?f=21&t=989&hilit=heater+cable


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