# heating cable???



## bazz (19 Apr 2009)

ok, i've retired my dennerle ph controller, and the coc400 in favour of a tetratec ex 1200, and i know that in the current planted aquarium climate that heating cables are not needed, but is there absolutely no point whatsoever in utilising one that i've got just sitting there, or should i just chuck that in the box with all the other green bits that cost me a fortune?
cheers and thanx,
bazz!


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## Ed Seeley (19 Apr 2009)

Well it will help heat the tank but as it's probably not powerful enough to do the job on it's own you're going to have to add another heater anyway so I wouldn't bother on that score.  I think there may be a minimal value in it heating the roots of the plants in a cold room or with a very compact substrate that doesn't allow the water to move very easily through it but that's all.

I'd use it in a greenhouse for terrestrial plants to make a hot bench personally!


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## glenn (19 Apr 2009)

if you've got one, i think there is no harm in using it. JBL aquabasis plus recmend using a heating cable with there substrate-they say "a heating cable will enduce a convection current eliminating dead spots in the substrate and allowing nutrients to travel around the substrate"

any way, if you dont use it you could allways start a viv with it using an old fish tank


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## Ed Seeley (19 Apr 2009)

Forgot to provide the links to the previous debates on this.

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

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=4101&p=45442&hilit=Heating+cable#p45442

And Glenn just because a company says something does something it doesn't necessarily mean it's completely true!  If you're using a substrate such as aquasoil or gravel the water will circulate just fine without any need for a heating cable.  More to the point the plant's roots will be in the substrate taking up nutrients so why do you want it in the water column?  You can dose the water column much more easily than using a heating cable to help transport nutrients out of the substrate into the water column by using convection currents!


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## glenn (19 Apr 2009)

no, i meant moving the nutrients arount and within the substrate not in the water colum. sory for the misunderstanding.


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## aaronnorth (20 Apr 2009)

glenn said:
			
		

> no, i meant moving the nutrients arount and within the substrate not in the water colum. sory for the misunderstanding.



substrates have the ability to take in and release nutrients (cations - positive ions such as Ca++ Mg++ K+ etc)
It is often reffered to as cation exchange capacity (CEC)


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## Dave Spencer (21 Apr 2009)

You could always give it a go, and then after a few months switch it off. That way, you can actually say you have compared the results and, like me, strut around on your high horse the next time a cable discussion comes up, because you have the empirical data.  

Heater cables are a waste of time IME.

Dave.


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## TDI-line (21 Apr 2009)

If my old tank was like _Windows_, i would click and drag the heating cables to the recycle bin, and then perm delete.   

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=2347&hilit=destruction


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## bazz (22 Apr 2009)

ok thanks, i've got the message. in the bin!
bazz!


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## vauxhallmark (22 Apr 2009)

Don't bin it!

Could be used for setting up an emersed growth tank, used for propagating seeds and cuttings on your windowsill, etc. - I'll have it if you don't want it!   

M


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## bazz (28 Apr 2009)

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/the-pollinator
my first ever ebay sale, and probably last!
cheers!


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## aaronnorth (28 Apr 2009)

lol


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## plantbrain (28 Apr 2009)

FYI, the dupla cables ran about 400-800$ USA.
I DIY my own and so did a few folks after wasting our money.

Sandpoint use to make them also, I used theirs for about 10 years(except in the summer).
I have an old article that describes how to DIY one........if anyone is interested, cost about 20-30$.

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Tech/Resler-Cables/
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/m ... 00176.html
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Tech/heater-writeup.html

Gives you some idea of how much we put into the topic over 10 years ago.........
For any folks to dismiss all the experience and testing we did is a bit troll like  
Dan is a good friend of mine to this day, we even got ourselves in a lawsuit over libel on the APD many years ago!



Regards, 
Tom Barr


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