Heater mounted under sand ok?
- Thread starter cgj
- Start date
lion_crazz
Active Member
Originally Posted by CGJ
I'm going to be starting up a salt water fish onyl tank, and wanted to know has anyone mounted their heater on the bottom and then covered it with sand? Im only doing that to save space. Any negative consequences? I've heard of a few aquarium books recomending it.
Hm, I have not seen anyone do that, but I have to think that there has to be a few negatives to doing it this way.
I will have to do some research on this one.
I'm going to be starting up a salt water fish onyl tank, and wanted to know has anyone mounted their heater on the bottom and then covered it with sand? Im only doing that to save space. Any negative consequences? I've heard of a few aquarium books recomending it.
Hm, I have not seen anyone do that, but I have to think that there has to be a few negatives to doing it this way.
I will have to do some research on this one.
N
nereef
Guest
most heaters aren't supposed to be placed where they are touching anyting. this causes uneven heating to the heater and could cause a shatter.
lion_crazz
Active Member
Originally Posted by NEreef
most heaters aren't supposed to be placed where they are touching anyting. this causes uneven heating to the heater and could cause a shatter.
I agree with the shattering, but what if it were a titanium heater?
most heaters aren't supposed to be placed where they are touching anyting. this causes uneven heating to the heater and could cause a shatter.
I agree with the shattering, but what if it were a titanium heater?
zman1
Active Member
That dosen't sound like a good idea to me, if your talking about the typical Glass or Titanium heaters. If your talking about the heat tape heaters, then I think that's how they are installed. Hydro Hydrokable cable heating is one brand - Tunze is another - They are low watt heaters 100 or less.
N
nereef
Guest
Originally Posted by rbaldino
I've something did go wrong with the heater, it would be a pain to get out. It's not like they take up a lot of space anyway.
very true. i've seen a lot of heates "stick" in my day. perhaps the thread starter saw this advice pertaining to undergravel filters. i've seen that done.
man, usually it's the water chemistry stuff that makes my head hurt.
I've something did go wrong with the heater, it would be a pain to get out. It's not like they take up a lot of space anyway.
very true. i've seen a lot of heates "stick" in my day. perhaps the thread starter saw this advice pertaining to undergravel filters. i've seen that done.
man, usually it's the water chemistry stuff that makes my head hurt.
lion_crazz
Active Member
I would be worried about having to dig it up and disturb anything if it does break - which is not an impossibility. Also, it will be uneven heating because it is buried.
trainfever
Active Member
I dont think it would be very effective because heat would be trapped beneath the sand. The moving water would not be heated properly. I would also think that you could burn out the heater because the temp probe would be reading that the water is could which would turn the element on. Since the element would be buried in the sand and not properly heating the water, the element would be on constantly or more than really needed. Just my thoughts.
scsinet
Active Member
Agreed to all posts here, but i'll add.
The substrate will have an insulating effect on the heater. It will cause the heater's thermostat to respond to the temperature up against the heater body because of the low circulation rate of water around it and the insulating effect.
This means that your heater will short cycle, causing ineffective heating and possibly premature heater failure from the thermostat cycling at much higher rates than you'd normally find.
You'll note that undergravel heater cables have their heating unit (the cable in this case) spread out over a much larger area to distribute the heat that is normally distributed by water movement with a normal heater, and that their thermostat is mounted on a separate cable, so it is checking the temperature of the water column, not of the hotter areas right next to the cable.
Finally, the heater will be hard to adjust if buried.
You can mitigate this by using a Via Aqua or Won heater that has a remote thermostat probe and adjustment, but all the difficulty in maintenance will still be a problem, plus the insulating effect will cause ineffective heating regardless. IMO it's not worth the trouble.
The substrate will have an insulating effect on the heater. It will cause the heater's thermostat to respond to the temperature up against the heater body because of the low circulation rate of water around it and the insulating effect.
This means that your heater will short cycle, causing ineffective heating and possibly premature heater failure from the thermostat cycling at much higher rates than you'd normally find.
You'll note that undergravel heater cables have their heating unit (the cable in this case) spread out over a much larger area to distribute the heat that is normally distributed by water movement with a normal heater, and that their thermostat is mounted on a separate cable, so it is checking the temperature of the water column, not of the hotter areas right next to the cable.
Finally, the heater will be hard to adjust if buried.
You can mitigate this by using a Via Aqua or Won heater that has a remote thermostat probe and adjustment, but all the difficulty in maintenance will still be a problem, plus the insulating effect will cause ineffective heating regardless. IMO it's not worth the trouble.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by tonykla
I'm new here but I have an experience where the rocks turned black because it was touching the heater. It seems that the heater killed the organic bateria on the rock. It smells very bad and I had to throw the rock away. I wouldn't recommend it.
Wow...
I'm new here but I have an experience where the rocks turned black because it was touching the heater. It seems that the heater killed the organic bateria on the rock. It smells very bad and I had to throw the rock away. I wouldn't recommend it.
Wow...