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Substrate heating coils
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To: aquatic-plants at actwin_com
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Subject: Substrate heating coils
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From: "shaji (s.) bhaskar" <bhaskar at bnr_ca>
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Date: Mon, 17 Apr 1995 20:18:00 -0400
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I finally broke down and decided to try DIY substrate heating. My
basic plan is that of Dan Resler and Uwe Behle, but I want to build
mine out of locally available materials. I am going to build a 30W
heater for my 70 gallon tank (footprint 48" x 18").
I've decided on a 24V, 2A transformer, and 30 gauge wire-wrapping
wire, both from Radio Shack. The only major problem is that I need
200 feet of wire to get 30 watts of power. I'm going to do this using
4 reels of 50-foot wire, wound in parallel on a frame built of solid
steel-core, vinyl-insulated clothesline from my local hardware store.
The ends of the reels will them be soldered together to connect the
four reels in series. The frame will be glued to a 46" x 16" piece of
plastic carpet backing and placed at the bottom of my tank. Add
gravel, and I should be all set.
The only tools I'll need should be a drill , soldering iron,
screwdrivers, and cutting pliers, all things I already have.
I expect the total cost of the installed heater to be under $50.
Any suggestions/comments?
-Shaji