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Scapers Tank Aquascape Attempt (Looking for C&C)

I've just got a hydor 300 watt inline heater from my gf for xmas.. ( obviously I asked for it). I've already taken it to bits and disabled the built in thermostat. This means that when the powers on, the heaters always on now. I plug this into a proper thermostat controller which switches the heater on and off. My experience of both previous hydor heaters I've had are that the thermostats always go after a period of time. Either get stuck on heat which can cook your fish or they stop switching the heat on. I've also read loads of other stories around the world of people having the same problem. Make sure you get the right heater for your hose size as the 200 watt comes in both 12 and 16mm 🙂
 
aquascape1987 said:
I've just got a hydor 300 watt inline heater from my gf for xmas.. ( obviously I asked for it). I've already taken it to bits and disabled the built in thermostat. This means that when the powers on, the heaters always on now. I plug this into a proper thermostat controller which switches the heater on and off. My experience of both previous hydor heaters I've had are that the thermostats always go after a period of time. Either get stuck on heat which can cook your fish or they stop switching the heat on. I've also read loads of other stories around the world of people having the same problem. Make sure you get the right heater for your hose size as the 200 watt comes in both 12 and 16mm 🙂
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Awesome, what controller are you using man? Couldn't you leave the Hydor heater in tact for warranty purposes and set the external controller a little higher as to turn it off when the temp gets to high? and I can get the 300 for the same price as the 200 atm would 200 still be the better option, or get the 300 for any possible tank upgrades?

Big clown said:
This thread
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/another-hydor-heater-failure.33372/
And yes the controller has its own probe
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That's the thread I was talking about, thanks very much man! Are you using a controller? Or an in line heater for that matter? Looking for as much information on this as possible before I bite the bullet.
 
Hi mate... you could leave the heater intact and turn it up to max temp, but that would only work reliably as long as the thermostat inside did. If the heaters own thermostat failed and it constantly thought the temp was high, the heater would never come on. My last one failed in this way, instead of overheating. Once you take it apart you can see that there's not a right lot that can go wrong apart from the thermostat... its just a glass tube with a thermostat. Either inside the glass tube or on its surface, there is a foil that heats up when electrical current goes through it.. its a very simple electrical circuit,with no mechanical or moving parts,so personally I'm not worried about the warranty.The only other thing that can go wrong is it leaks, but again, if you saw it inside, it's quite obvious that this would be an easy fix with some sealant. The thermostat I'm using is the Aquamedic T Controller Twin. I got it after a recommending review in PFK and it works great. You can also attach a cooling device (either fans or chiller) as it controls temp both up and down. I haven't bothered with cooling however.
 
Don't think there are any other external in lines on the market, otherwise I wouldn't bother with the Hydor and modifying it. Unless anyone else knows of any??? I would try something else. It's a shame that Hydor use such a crap component for the thermostats, as the heater it's self works great, and the inline concept is also great. I won't have heaters in my tank now so Hydor is the only option for me. But the products far from perfect. I modified this one before it even failed, straight out of the box. That was because the first I had cooked my fish. The second stopped coming in after 6 months. So I made this mod to the 2nd and used it like this with zero problems for 2 years. Only problem was that I had the 12 mm diameter one and when I upgraded my filter it didn't fit, which is why I got the 3rd
 
For your size tank,the 200 would do just fine. You could get the 300 and it would just bring the water up to temperature,quicker. Get the 300. You might as well if it's the same price. The 200 would also still work on tanks much larger than yours.
 
aquascape1987 said:
For your size tank,the 200 would do just fine. You could get the 300 and it would just bring the water up to temperature,quicker. Get the 300. You might as well if it's the same price. The 200 would also still work on tanks much larger than yours.
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Hey man thanks for all the input and help with this, I am going to order a heater now, what was it you had to do to disable the thermostat? Does this mean its basically always on full blast and the external controller, controls temperature rather than the cheapy one inside? I intend to order a controller as soon as possible, although I assume the same as anything there are good controllers and cheap controllers?

The controller mentioned in the previous thread looks good but it seems awful cheap? Cheap sometimes means poor quality.. Id love someone that has one of these controllers to drop in and let me know what they are like.

Also small tank update last night, took the C&C I was given at the start of the thread about the rocks looking squashed so I moved things a little and added a few more! Still not to sure I am happy with how the rocks look especially on the left.. Also added a bag of purigen to the 306! Will be back later (when I leave work) to upload some photos for more C&C 🙂
 
aquascape1987 said:
Which controller is cheap sorry? The aqua medic one or the one mentioned in the Hydor failure thread?
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The one mentioned in the Hydor failure thread. I'm not sure what to look for and what to avoid in controllers.
 
Ah, Not sure about that one as I haven't used it, however I have seen quite a few people mentioning it on the site. I'm happy with the one I am using mentioned above. It cost me around £50.00. With regards to the mod to the Hydor inline, its difficult to explain without showing you and I've already sealed it up now and installed it on the tank.
Inside the plastic casing, there is a printed circuit board and on it is the thermostat component. You basically remove this and then complete the circuit with a piece of wire. I wouldn't advise doing this without someone who knows what their doing advising you however. In my case, my Gfs Dad is an electrical engineer, so he took a look at it and advised what modification was needed, and then sat with me whilst I did it. You could try just switching the heater up to its max temperature and then running it on an external thermostat if you don't have anyone who can help you make the mod properly. 🙂
 
aquascape1987 said:
Ah, Not sure about that one as I haven't used it, however I have seen quite a few people mentioning it on the site. I'm happy with the one I am using mentioned above. It cost me around £50.00. With regards to the mod to the Hydor inline, its difficult to explain without showing you and I've already sealed it up now and installed it on the tank.
Inside the plastic casing, there is a printed circuit board and on it is the thermostat component. You basically remove this and then complete the circuit with a piece of wire. I wouldn't advise doing this without someone who knows what their doing advising you however. In my case, my Gfs Dad is an electrical engineer, so he took a look at it and advised what modification was needed, and then sat with me whilst I did it. You could try just switching the heater up to its max temperature and then running it on an external thermostat if you don't have anyone who can help you make the mod properly. 🙂
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Think I'll try it out then! I know my way around electronics alright I was just curious, but my computer type things are for another forum haha! Thanks for all your help and input in my thread man.
Greenfinger2 said:
Hi LukeDaly,
Love the Scape and planting🙂 The DW is a great piece with all the twists and turns 😎 Looking forward to your updates
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Thanks Greenfinger! The wood is the best bit about the scape, I just can't seem to think of a way to compliment it or make the scape better, it's missing something.. Anyway since you asked here's a small update!

Added a few more rocks, and a bag of purigen and also two messy ass cockatoo cichlids!

FTS excuse the mess.

f3FwipR.jpg

OMsRk0N.jpg

New residents! Now I know these aren't crazy priced triple red cockatoo cichlids, but to be honest I'm more interested in their behaviour and trying to breed them (First time with cichlids) and so far I Love them awesome to watch! Any breeding tips wood be awesome.

Male:
oqK6C9X.jpg

His soon to be wife hopefully:
Sx5oGca.jpg

A little Rock cave I attempted to make at the back she tends to hang out around now:

A9vS48Z.jpg

And finally how the DBT is looking currently: (DBT masters, please tell me if this is looking like a failed attempt or how it looks for that matter I have no experience with this plant)

O3eKwJR.jpg

The sand is starting to get dirty and this irritates me alot, so the sooner I see a carpet the better!

Thanks again guys and I hope I get a few responses again!
 
Looks really good mate.. I've also got Co2 Art kit but haven't installed it yet. I got one of their complete systems with solenoid and regulator, ph controller and inline atomizer etc. You had good experiences with the co2 art stuff?
 
aquascape1987 said:
Looks really good mate.. I've also got Co2 Art kit but haven't installed it yet. I got one of their complete systems with solenoid and regulator, ph controller and inline atomizer etc. You had good experiences with the co2 art stuff?
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Thanks man, how does the carpet look? Anything you would change if it was your scape?

And get on that on asap! 😉 Awesome, I wish I had of got the full system at the time! I have the regulator with solenoid and all the glass co2 bubble counter etc and so far they have been great! This is my first time running a proper co2 system and so far I have had no problems at all. Bought a digital timer with battery back up and haven't touched it since set up.

Upload a few photos once it's hooked up!
 
  1. Well your further on than me mate. I'm building my first hi tech scape at the moment. Ill be using the Co2 art stuff with a 2.5 kg FE that i got cheap through work.Only ever kept fish previously and a few plants. I'm just waiting for an acrylic background to be manufactured, then onto hard scaping the tank, and planting probably mid to end of Feb. The main thing holding me back is the cost of all the equipment, which I've been getting bit by bit since about August... only got the glass spray bars to get now, plus my substrate and some rocks, but luckily I got loads of green machine vouchers for xmas, so ill be taking a trip down there soon. 🙂 Think I'm getting the glass from aquarium plant food. The only good thing about having to build it up so slowly is that I have had a long time to research everything, before I bought it, plus had a lot of time to look at what other people out there are doing with their scapes. Hoping mine looks as good as yours to be honest. Don't think id personally change anything.. but like I say,I'm no expert 🙂
 
At the moment, my tank is just gravel and no decor, and about 10 fish keeping it cycled, and slowly gathering equipment like the c02 art that's in position, but not switched on haha...
 
aquascape1987 said:
At the moment, my tank is just gravel and no decor, and about 10 fish keeping it cycled, and slowly gathering equipment like the c02 art that's in position, but not switched on haha...
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Haha sweet! I'm waiting on my heater, heater controller, I have glass lilly pipes and an acrylic background to be fitted. I collected mine bit by bit too, this stuff costs a fortune! But at the end of the day the final result speaks for itself.
 
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