peet Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 I'm trying to make my new tank setup as minimalistic as possible. One of the key components of this is removing as much equipment as possible from the tank, including heaters. I am planning on making an undertank heater unit using a 500mm high section of 100mm diam PVC with glued caps on both ends. I will then use uniseals and pvc stubs on the side at the bottom and side top for inlet and outlet connections. The inlet will come directly from the tank and the outlet will feed into the cannister filter. Then I was hoping to use 2x uniseals in the top cap to push the heaters through. The uniseals provide a watertight seal and are rated in excess of 50m of head and are heat and chemical resistant so perfect for the job.. only issues is that the uniseal only come in 21mm and 27mm diams with only +2mm of tolerance. Only one of my heaters will work (23mm OD). Would be great if some of you guys could measure the diam of your glass heater tubes (mainly interested in the bigger units say >300 watts) and let me know the brand if it falls between 21 - 23mm or 27 - 29mm as I will need to buy another heater. The other option would be to wrap the heater in some kind of water proof tape to pack it out so that a smaller diameter can fit the 27mm seal. Would probably only need to add 2 -3 mm to my other heaters to get up to 27mm. Any suggestions on tape type? Can't afford for this to start leaking as will be a catastrophe on my lounge floor!! Heres a section view of what I was imagining the setup would look like Thanks in advance - Peet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Why not buy an inline heater instead of trying to reinvent it? Or use a sump? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peet Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 mainly because heaters are fairly cheap, uniseals are very cheap and I can get plenty of PVC pipe for free... and I love DIYing. I've never seen inline heaters.. how much would one cost for a 340 L aquarium? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 http://www.marineandreef.com/Hydor_InLine_Aquarium_Heaters_In_Line_Aquarium_s/257.htm I think HFF have something like this - check their site - Rena brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Great idea, nice little cheap project. Where do you get these uniseals? First time I've heard of them. Would a little window in the unit be a good idea? That way you could see the indicator lights on the heaters. Also, would you seal the unit or some kind of screw top so it can be opened and cleaned? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 Thanks Dr. Google! http://boatbitsonline.co.nz/magento/uniseal-simply-the-world-s-best-seal.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peet Posted March 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 You can also get them direct http://www.uniseal.co.nz these things are an aquanerds best friend and as you can see the price is right. Window would be great, but Im trying to keep the price right down, figured I will monitor it with thermometer in tank and pull them out for a check every 3 months or so. Adrienne... Being a resident of Mount Maunganui makes me nervous about buying any brand called "Rena" :sml2: Just doing some quick calcs on the costs, looks like a 300 watt would be around $NZ 67 + postage. I'll get that price and then compare the build costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 I have a 300w Hydor, and it does a very very good job of keeping my 300l tank at 29.5c all the time. I would recommend you get one of these and save the hassle Cool project idea though, what are you going to make the box out of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hovmoller Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 Are you gonna use a canister filter and put this inline with that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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