Fenriswolf Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 Arg! I'm kind of interested in the idea of a heat pad rather than a... what did they call it... heaterstat? Internal heater with thermostat. So I tried looking up how to make one myself. Then backed up to just trying to find something explaining how it works (obviously a heater that sits under a tank dispersing even heat across the bottom of the tank... but details!) and can't find anything! Help? Do many people here use them? Can you buy them from a pet store? Any information would be great. P.S. Due to weird dimensions of my tank I don't think I could buy one from a store. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 My husband has made them, so has Amazonian. I can send instructions if you want but you need to have at least a limited electrician's ticket to put one together safely. You also need someone to heatseal the ends for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted July 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 Hm. Well, would be interesting to look at the instructions at least, thanks. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 OK, at work at mo but will email you tonight (if I remember). Note that if you burn the house down as a result of your heatpad starting a fire, insurance will not cover you if the pad was not done by a certified electrical worker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smcoleman Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 hi Caryl u wooded be able to seen me the info to please im keen to try them am i want to buy 10 one foot tanks to hold my dwarf gourami babys in thanks steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted July 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 OK, at work at mo but will email you tonight (if I remember). Note that if you burn the house down as a result of your heatpad starting a fire, insurance will not cover you if the pad was not done by a certified electrical worker. Heh heh heh. Hopefully no house burning down! I'm semi-related to an electrician, so I may be able to bribe some assistance. 8) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 If you would prefer to get them made there is a place in Christchurch where I have had a couple made. Can PM details if required Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted July 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 If you would prefer to get them made there is a place in Christchurch where I have had a couple made. Can PM details if required Not really sure, but any resources are great! Thanks! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Do you mean Argus Heating Alan? They are the ones who helped us work out ohms and heatsealed the resulting wiring. Very helpful people there (or they were when we dealt with them about 10 years ago :lol: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Thats the place but I was petrified of the wet bus ticket if I gave out details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 just call argus in CHCH, tell them how many ltr your tank is, what temp you want, and they will make the cable up for you easy as. Get poly, lay a layer of tin foil over the poly, then put your cable evenly over the top, cover with another layer of tinfoil. put tank on top, add thermostat and your done. Easy. Most shops run there tanks this way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 You will of course need a seperate thermostat to control the temperature Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Note I only gave the name as a lpace to get what is needed. I gave no address or phone details. They can be found in the phone book. I think they need the tank footprint too. We didn't use tinfoil and we used Pinex which we sat on top of the poly. Sorry guys, just realised I forgot to email the details to you last night. Tonight perhaps! I am at work so will send myself a reminder. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted July 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2006 All good. Thank you all - look forward to your email Caryl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn1 Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Intersesting topic. I happen to have an Argus pet heating pad. Do you know if I could put one of these under a tank as a temporary heat source for a hospital/quarrantine tank? The pet pad is 15 watts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 It needs to be evenly spread over the whole base of the tank or you will have problems with stress fracturing the glass. Also, the pet pad does not have a thermostat on it so you would have to check what temperature you ended up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry Posted July 23, 2006 Report Share Posted July 23, 2006 Hello everyone, This is an interesting topic, heating from the bottom of the tank is mentioned in almost every article about planted tanks. I would also really appreciate a copy of your instructions Caryl, but only if and when its possible, I certainly appreciate your advice and assistance. I also have a few questions on this subject - 1. Where do people obtain heater controllers from? Many articles reccoment them for controlling heaters (eg use two heaters, set both on max and use controller to switch heaters on/off to maintain temp), and for under tank heating, but few suppliers of LFS seem to stock them. 2. Is it possible to provide all the heat necessary for maintaining water temp just using under tank heating, or must it always be supplemented using immersable heaters. Any thoughts, advice, answers would be appreciated. Cheers, Henry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Will email instructions Henry. 1. Don't know about heat controllers. We use a glass thermostat on ours but they are hard to get these days. I just happened to have an old one in the cupboard. There used to some called Slikstats but I don't know if they are still available. 2. A heatpad on its own is plenty. Really good as heat rises so provides even heating throughout the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 Intersesting topic. I happen to have an Argus pet heating pad. Do you know if I could put one of these under a tank as a temporary heat source for a hospital/quarrantine tank? The pet pad is 15 watts. depends on how warm the room is, you may find it does not get hot enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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