# Heater advice for a 30cm cube



## Dreadlockdog (13 Nov 2018)

Hi, As the title says I'm looking for a good heater for my 30cm cube. Really would like a external but not sure I've got room as a Hydor would be sticking out above the cabinet. They say you can't have them horizontal. What are my choices to keep the tank clean of equipment.

Pic is for reference as I was testing the level of cabinet after building it.

Suggestions please.
Thanks in advance




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## Siege (13 Nov 2018)

Hydor would work well. I have mine almost horizontal in the cabinet.

In tank the small black Fluval flex one looks ok.

Why not a small external filter with heater built in, smallest oase filter smart?  Not cheap for a nano tank though.


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## Dreadlockdog (13 Nov 2018)

Thought of an external filter with heater but ended up getting a eheim ecco for a good second hand price.

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## Edvet (13 Nov 2018)

You could go roomtemp without a heater.


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## Dreadlockdog (13 Nov 2018)

That's a thought...
Though it does drop to 16 degrees in the lounge overnight during winter, maybe lower.


Edvet said:


> You could go roomtemp without a heater.



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## george29 (13 Nov 2018)

Hi,

When I had a 30cm cube I initially ran a small Hydor 25w heater but in winter it could not keep up during the cold periods even though that room would generally only drop to 15c .  Upgraded it to a Visitherm 50w which is only 26.5cm tall inc red adjuster, worked  in a vertical position though it was in a very strong flow area and using an external temp controller.


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## alto (13 Nov 2018)

Hydor only makes inline 200watt and 300watt heaters - this is a 30cm cube of maximum 27 litre volume and likely running volume of 20 litre

A 10-25watt heater is the maximum I’d run with either livestock or plants 

Plants would be fine with the overnight 16 
Most shrimp would likely manage as well, though they will slow down and breeding stops (some breeders deliberately include a period of cooler temps to give breeding stock a break) ... check shrimp species publications for habitat temperature ranges to select suitable species 

There are some aquarium fish that will manage this temperature range as well but the 30cm dimensions may be a challenge (in combination with the 16* low)


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## Edvet (14 Nov 2018)

https://www.theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/Coldwater_Aquariums


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## oscarlloydjohn (14 Nov 2018)

You could make your own inline heater, I was planning to with my eheim. Uarujoey has a video on it.


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## zozo (14 Nov 2018)

Lately i found these heaters on Aliexpress.. 

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/CE-T...-Thermostat-Controlled-Heater/1091273688.html

The heater cables are completely imbedded in a flat silicone rubber and waterproof/immersible. Come in different models/sizes and capacities

This model for example
Alixd-H-1
150x150mm
12/24 Volt
100 watt
100k thermistor, 3M adhesive

Could easily be placed anywhere in the tank from bottom to sides. i'm just not 100% sure about the 3M adhesive. But regarding specifications it should be non toxic and food grade.

You need an external DC 12 volt thermostat and a sufficient DC 12 volt power supply..

It could be glued to a sheet of acrylic with suction cups and stick to the side/back panel.


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## Harry H (14 Nov 2018)

Dreadlockdog said:


> Thought of an external filter with heater but ended up getting a eheim ecco for a good second hand price.
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk



I would put Eheim on eBay, get an Oaise small external with inbuilt heater if you can afford. You would be happier. If not, get a big standard 50w heater, you can always upgrade later.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (14 Nov 2018)

Maybe look at the Dennerle internal heater range, both the 25 watt and the 50 watt are only 160mm in length. You could put these horizontal at the back of the tank just above substrate level and the plants would pretty much hide them. They're better off horizontal anyway, the thermostat tends to be at the top and the heating element at the bottom so when fitted vertically the heat rises and trips out the stat. Fitting horizontally you get it measuring the water temp generally. I've seen many people fit external heaters nearly horizontal, I guess the reasoning behind not doing it is if there was an air pocket in the tubing that got trapped inside the heater the element could be exposed to air and over heat but I don't think with good flow through a filter that would happen as long as it was at an angle and not pure horizontal. Just looked at the Oases range as I'm also setting up a 300 cube and wanted no equipment in the tank, just wondering, the people who have the 100 version it says max head height 1.1m, are people running these in cabinets or beside the tank? With  say 750mm high cabinet and 300mm tank are you getting good flow. Also do they come with shut off taps to turn off the water when disconnecting?


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## Tim Harrison (14 Nov 2018)

I used this in my 30cm cube https://www.amazon.co.uk/SuperFish-...2194580&sr=1-1&keywords=superfish+nano+heater
These are pretty discrete heaters as well https://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-N...d=1542194439&sr=8-9&keywords=fish+heater&th=1



Edvet said:


> https://www.theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/Coldwater_Aquariums


Or alternatively...https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...o-set-up-a-temperate-tank-that-looks-tropical


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## Dreadlockdog (14 Nov 2018)

Thanks for the input. Think I'll go with a small in tank heater to start me off and maybe upgrade to a heated filter when I can find one cheap enough.

Although it sounds like a great idea I'm not into making my own as I'd only fry myself somehow!

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## alto (15 Nov 2018)

AverageWhiteBloke said:


> With say 750mm high cabinet and 300mm tank are you getting good flow.


I’ve been known to “elevate” my filter inside the cabinet to reduce the that distance & improve filter flow 

Sorry I don’t have access to these filters so can’t comment specific to the Oase 
(I find it unclear how the flow rates can be adjusted - I’d call Aquarium Gardens   From some comments I’ve read online, I suspect these filters don’t deliver maximum flow rates as well as Eheim - which are tested complete with filter media and head heights in the production facility ... back pressure tests are also done to simulate debris in filter media etc)


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## goldscapes (15 Nov 2018)

Dreadlockdog said:


> Thanks for the input. Think I'll go with a small in tank heater to start me off and maybe upgrade to a heated filter when I can find one cheap enough.
> 
> Although it sounds like a great idea I'm not into making my own as I'd only fry myself somehow!
> 
> Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk



Eden do a cheap external with inbuilt filter @Matt @ ScapeEasy uses one he might be able to comment on the build quality and performance.


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## zozo (15 Nov 2018)

davexcape said:


> Eden do a cheap external with inbuilt filter @Matt @ ScapeEasy uses one he might be able to comment on the build quality and performance.



I've been using Eden Heaters and Pumps already for a few years in several aqauriums.. And i'm very pleased witht it.. Quality wise the are very good, what gives confidence is the 2 year factory warrenty..  Also pumps run very sillent.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (15 Nov 2018)

alto said:


> I’ve been known to “elevate” my filter inside the cabinet to reduce the that distance & improve filter flow



Was thinking same thing mate but I was looking at the aquascaper 300 cabinet which comes with no door but built in shelf, when I was talking to George he tells me the shelf can't be removed so need to find the height of the shelf to make sure an external filter is going to sit under or above it and I wondered about stability if I didn't fit the shelf at all. 300 cabinets are rocking horse shat it would appear so I maybe go down the route of the Aqua-one 400x400 cabinet which does come with a door to hide equipment from view for my 300 cube and just have 50mm around the outside. Plan is to have the 300 cube with no equipment going on inside the tank other than obviously lily pipes. Was thinking the aquaone cabinet with one of these Oase filters with inline co2 but would be interested to hear about this eden filter, never came across it. With the aquaone I could make a shelf to elevate if needs be.


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (15 Nov 2018)

davexcape said:


> Eden do a cheap external with inbuilt filter @Matt @ ScapeEasy uses one he might be able to comment on the build quality and performance.


Unfortunately this is the only external I have ever owned so drawing comparisons is difficult. I can certainly say that it does the job and I presume build quality to be good as I have had no problems with it. The heaters can be quite delicate by design so take care with these that said replacing them is a doddle. I have found that regular maintenance is required to keep the flow nice and strong but I assume no more than other designs. They are quite tall so ensure it will fit in your cabinet with enough room for the pipework too.


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## kadoxu (15 Nov 2018)

I use an Aquael Easy Heater 50W in a 35cm cube.


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## lazybones51 (15 Nov 2018)

I use an Eden Aquarium Heater 425-50 (50w) in the same 30cm cube. It's not too intrusive however I do plan on converting it to a DIY external heater at some point.


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