Caryl

DISCLAIMER!!! We (that being my husband Grant, myself, or the FNZAS) TAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY for any problems arising from anyone making their own heatpads using these instructions. Grant has many years electronic and electrical experience and has a number of electrical qualifications. We suggest you get your finished pad checked and signed off by a registered electrician. Failure to do so will result in your insurance company refusing to pay out in event of fire or damaged caused by the heatpad malfunctioning. That said, our own heatpad has been running about 10 years with no problems so far. Materials: Pinex the same size as the tank base Silicone covered resistance cable Thermostat Map pins or drawing pins Parcel tape We originally bought the silicone cable from Argus Heating in Christchurch. The company no longer appears at that address or phone number but there is an Argus Heating at 445 St Asaph St, ph 03 379 5100 so I would assume it is the same company as the man who helped us, Brian Shaw, is still listed as the after hours contact. He was very helpful and helped us work out what we wanted. He will need to know the length of the cable and the power (in watts) you need. I’m sure there are other places selling this cable but this is the one we know. First thing to decide is the power required to heat the tank. This will be determined by the size of the tank and the lowest room temperature where the tank is situated. In a warm room where the temperature is unlikely to fall below 15˚C, 150 watts for a 60cm tank holding about 100 litres should be adequate. This also depends on whether the tank is insulated. If it is open on all sides then more heating may be required. Our lounge tank, holding approx. 250 litres, is heated by 300 watts and maintains its temperature well. It is only open to the front. The length of cable must then be calculated. As the tank is going to sit on the cable, there must be enough cable to support the tank with very little stress. Calculate the area of the tank by multiplying the length (in cm) by the breadth. Divide the result by 200 and this will give the cable length in metres. None of these measurements is critical. As there is a large range of cable resistances available (2 – 3000 ohms) there will be a cable suitable for the power and length combination required. A length of mains flex will be needed to connect to the thermostat. This will be attached by the cable supplier as it needs to be crimped and sealed using heatshrink and glued sleeves for safety. This method ensures the joint will also be waterproof to guard against water splashes. They will make the flex whatever length you require. The heater is assembled on the Pinex base by arranging it to cover the whole base as evenly as possible to minimise stress on the base of the tank. The joint where the flex is attached will be larger than the cable so cut a depression in the Pinex to lower the joint into. The top of the joint will need to be even with the top of the cable. Diagram shows one suggested pattern to evenly distribute cable. Use the pins to hold the cable in place on the Pinex while laying it out, ensuring there are no sharp corners in the cable. The parcel tape is then used to keep the cable in place when the pins are removed. Check that the top of the cable is level so there are no high points to stress the bottom of the tank. The tank can then be placed on the cable. Do not slide the tank when it is placed on the cable as this will roll the cable, possibly stressing it, and cause breaks in the wire. A separate thermostat is needed to control the heater. Make sure you wire the two together correctly or get a qualified electrician to do it. After this article appeared in the Aquarium World magazine, we received a letter of complaint from a man who was building his own heatpads and insisting the cable had to be placed in grooves so it was flush with the base as he claimed there would be too much stress on the glass. The tank has been sitting on the pad for about 10 years now and no leaks so far. We have 2 other tanks on similarly built pads with no problems either. We will add the following though… 1. No DIY is foolproof. Never attempt to make you own electrical equipment unless you have electrical training or experience. 2. As the tank rests directly on the cable in this design ensure the cable is evenly distributed under the tank so there is no part of the tank with a large unsupported area of glass. 3. When placing the tank on the cable be careful not to drag the tank across the cable as this could drag the cable out of position. 4. The thermostat must be rated to handle the load of the heatpad. Commonly available thermostats (not so commonly available these days I don’t think) are rated to a mazimum of 300 watts. Too high a load could cause the thermostat to fail, overheating (or not heating) the water. 5. Always double check your calculations and perhaps get someone else to confirm your answers. Remember even the ‘experts’ can get it wrong. 6. Have you checked your contents or house insurance policy to see if you are covered for damage done by leaking tanks?

Turning a heater down does nothing in this case. The water will heat up to the room temperature. If your room sits at 27C then you could turn the heater down or off, the water will still rise to 27C - same as the room.

I have an article on how to build your own and the maths required to work out length of wire, ohms etc. Will hunt it out but be aware, if you do not have good electrical knowledge this is not something you want to attempt as it would be easy to miscalculate and burn down your house! Insurance wouldn't pay out either.

We had a cold rock pool marine set up but the heat was the killer. Since the room got to 28 - 32 during the day and dropped to low 20's only overnight, it wasn't cool enough. We have since bought a chiller but haven't got around to setting it back up again. We found the inhabitants didn't cope with constant temps over 10 - 15C. This may have been because we got them from the Kaikoura Coast where, although the pools got hot during the day, they were totally flooded with cold water every high tide. Those way down south might get away with it but in sunny Marlborough you definitely need a chiller!

Yes we have home built undertank heat pads.

If your plants can't cope with a couple of weeks without supplements I would think there was something seriously wrong with your tank.

Once you have some in the tube, slip a net over the bottom of it then lift all out of the water.

Congratulations. Use a torch - their eyes will reflect in the light.

Bristlenoses are herbivores.

We are thinking of doing this as our tank will be ply (apart from the front glass of course) coated in fibreglass and have thought about doing the sump in fibreglass as well. Not got around to it yet though.

Slash the sump would work like a big canister filter if you filled it with bioballs and other media for the bacteria to grow in. The tank I was referring to is not planted so CO2 is not a problem.

An interesting observation HelifaxNZ. I knew mine would breed lots then stop for no apparent reason. Since my tank sits at 22 - 23C I wonder if the breeding coincided with the summer months when the tank temperature rose to over 27C with the room temperature. It sounds like this is to be another summer where we have to lift the lid, turn the lights off, and drop slikka pads into the tank when the room sits at 32+C during the day :roll:

It might help if we knew what sort of fish it is you are trying to breed!

I can't comment on the lighting as I don't know enough about it but I would use the sump as it will give more area. When we upgrade our 4ft to a 6ft we plan to use the 4ft as a sump.

Curt's plantgeek site is an amazing resource. I often recommend it.

Are you able to do a post mortem? Having a look at the internal bits under a microscope may give some clues. If swim bladder, it is possible the food may have caused a problem.

Of course you would be sent a copy! Looking forward to the finished article.

Still sounds like classic algae bloom to me

Not only could you put the whole process in here as a topic but if you wrote an article (with pics) I would be happy to print it in our magazine The NZ Aquarium World

Check the date on the original query Luke :lol: Hard to tell what you have without a pic.

Depends on what sort of plecostomus it is. If it is actually a bristlenose catfish then it is Ancistrus sp. A large plecostomus is usually Hypostomus plecostomus and a reddish spotted one with a large dorsal fin (aka red sailfin plec) is Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps

Angels can be very quiet or very aggressive depending on the individual fish. A group of angels is less likely to have an aggressive one than 1 or 2 on their own. Generally speaking tetras can hold their own with angels

Betta splendens is the scientific name for the Siamese fighting fish you were talking about in another thread casey05 (or I think it was you )

The flowing fins on a Siamese fighter are very inviting to other short finned fish and they will nibble away at them constantly. They are also kept separately to stop the males fighting with other males. Personally I think Siamese Fighters should be kept in a species only tank and not mixed with other fish but others would disagree.

Looking great! Interesting rock in the 2nd pic.