just before i added gravel into my tank, my dad SMSed me saying that his friend who is quite an expert at planted tanks says i will need to get an undergravel heating cable... he quoted 170 bucks...
as my tank is outdoors and i can't really afford a chiller...
should i get this devise or do without it...
my tank is a 4 footer...
using 4x36watts pl lights with normal ballast and 1x40watts fl also normal ballast...
i'll be getting a 6dc fan set from nature...
so what should i do?
heater or no heater?
You don't need it...just plant heavily to prevent substrate from turning anerobic in certain parts...that's all you need..lots of plants. [] Oh..I mean plants with roots lah! They carry oxygen to the roots so your substrate should not turn anerobic...hopefully I got it right..Good luck and welcome to the planted tank world~!
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
hehe since when did i leave it?
i'm still running my 3 plated tanks!
in process of doing another!
yeah i know about the anerobic thing...
but i've heard that the base fert gets 'hard'?
and will last longer with the heater?
anyway i think i'll give it a pass...
but still would like to hear your views guys!
You wanna "soften" the substrate..maybe can try ramshorn snails..(dunno got the name right a not.) Heard they help to loosen up the substrate. And finally..my bad..you are even more experience than me ...LOL!!!
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
no lah i'm not experienced lah...
my tanks look like ****...
peter, its malayan trumpet snail or MTS.. btw, these snails only burrow near the surface, so dun expect them to go rite down to yr base fert layer. I would like to hear what other say abt the hardening of the base fert, the cause of it.
as for yr qns abt the heater, try it out and find the answer for yrself.. we can rebate the method but still its up to u to decide. from my experience, having one is good, provided u got the money but not having one doesnt mean yr plants wouldnt grow well. Plants grows with or without a substrate heater. but I cannot see the differences between having and not having one, since comparsion has to be done with 2 tanks setup side by side and with all the same parameter, plants, lights, co2..etc inorder to see the result.
there's no discernable difference in our climate
unless you're very hardcore and use a chiller, but i feel that it's totally unnecessary
120 is alrite, but there are much cheaper ones out there
so basically, unless you're looking for a way to burn money, forget it
alright then...
thanks guys...
i've decided not to get one...
I was giving some thoughts too on this heater when 1 of my close planted buddy that I needed a substarte heater.
I do agree it may help plants to grow and it will prevent the substrate becoming anerobic.... but considering that I was planting rather heavily and mostly rossete plants, I foregoed the heater as I think it will just burn a bigger hole in my pocket to juz have a small/no significant improvement for my planted tank. Besides, to tell whether is better or not, is quite difficult to judge. For me I always believe that a sucessful tank needs to depend on the balance of the elements...... so, it's still up to you whether it's needed or not.
I've got a undergravel heater cable in my 5ft, and while I can easily attest to the fact that my plant in that tank do best, I also have to admit that thats the tank with the best equipment and the one I pay most attention too... The only thing I can say for sure is that newly planted plants in my 5ft tank do put down roots extremely quickly...
All said though, I'm pretty sure you won't die if you don't have one, and if you do get one it won't hurt either...
Allen
oh thanks for sharing!
i think its too expensive and if i dont NEED it, i wont buy it...
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