alanmin4304 Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 I am thinking of building a six chamber aquarium surrounded by a water jacket heated by one element. Has anyone tried this or is there a way to say heat them from underneath? I am trying to avoid having an element in each tank, because they will be relatively small, and used for breeding killies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Sounds like you'd be better off with an undertank heater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Yeah Alan, we have used undertank heating DIY type for a while now. If you find the potos that Caryl took of the Napier Fish Show, you will see the NZKA stand, all of which is cable heated. I have used cable from an old electric blanket wired into a thermostat and embedded into a pinex base then covered in vinyl. The tanks do have to have a similar volume to each other tho, and the thermostat is placed in one tank, so now you see the necessity for the volumes to be the same.. Caryl's hubby, Grant, I think may have a drawing of what I'm on about. Alan NZKA 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Yes we have home built undertank heat pads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Do you have a diagramn and details of wiring and thermastat? Is there anything commercially available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Thermostat are available. The LFS should be able to get them from Brooklands Alan NZKA 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Could you use a homebrew heater pad? I use them for brewing and they seem pretty cheap and reliable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 What size are the home brew heater pads and what volume of water are they designed to keep at what temp? I used to use an aquarium heater/thermastat. I might have to trip down to the brew shop as I don't have an old electric blanket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monaro1 Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 will the same water be going through all 6 or is each one filtered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 The home brew pads are only 30 watts and no thermostat. Could wire in a themastat but 30 watts wouldn't be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 Well a home brew pad is designed to keep a 25L barrel at around 25C I think, however since they are square you could get a few of them in depending on the size of the tank. I managed to get two for $4, but I think that was luck! Just running the idea past you, wouldnt have a clue if its practical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiuh Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 sounds a good way to heat many tanks up. a diagram or two might be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 Dont know if this is any help but a while ago I sent an email to the people at "Nu Klear" - the mirror demister people. http://www.nuklearproducts.co.nz/ Check out this page. http://www.nuklearproducts.co.nz/pages/horticulture/index.html Horticultural Ag Pad Available Options The Ag pad comes in strips 550mm wide and can be made to any length up to 9 metres in size. Dont quote me (and i cant find the correspondance) but I seem to recall that the product they sell puts out about 80W per meter.... I ran the idea of under tank heating past them and I was told it should be OK. Anyway... just a thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 Thankyou all for your input. I have aranged to get one made by Argos Heating Ltd. $67 for 250 watt 4ft x 18inch. It is 31 metres of 8amp/metre element sandwiched between aluminium foil and earthed. Sits on top of polystyrene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 6, 2005 Report Share Posted December 6, 2005 Just started a separate thread for DIY heatpads and recommended Argus also 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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