Re: Bioplast and other undergravel heaters

["George Booth" <booth at frii_com>]

> Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 02:02:03 -0700
> From: "Robert H" <robertpaulh at earthlink_net>
>
> Well I am confused here. I thought substrate heaters were to simply create
a
> small warm current deep in the substrate, and wouldnt be enough to heat
the
> whole tank by any stretch. You certainly would not use them to take the
> place of a water colum heater... Isnt this correct?

Yes, they are enough to heat the whole tank. Typical substrate heaters for
75g tanks are 150 watts - plenty of heat. A good quality water column heater
is only used when the ambient temp get cold enough that the substrate heater
isn't supplying enough heat or can't get the heat to the water fast enough -
the gravel has a very large thermal mass and it takes a while after the
heater comes on to get warmth to the water.

A good quality column heater is needed so it can be set 1-2 degrees F lower
than the good quality subtrate heater controller. If the water temp drops
too low, the coumn heater can kick in to help maintain the desired temp.

George Booth in Ft. Collins, CO (booth at frii dot com)
  The website for aquatic gardeners by aquatic gardeners
    Major updates in July '01! On-line book, articles and tech briefs
      http://www.frii.com/~booth/AquaticConcepts/

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