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Heating Mats



Dear All,

In reply to all those who have enquired about the heating mats I wrote
about, I am reprising two of my off-list replies:

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The review of the mats is in the August 1992 copy of "Fishkeeping Answers",
a UK hobbyist magazine. I have owned one since about 1990, when I set a
reef aquarium for my father, and needed something not likely to be damaged
by falling rocks and salt water.

The article says that these mats are used by horticulturalists and in
"industry", whatever that means. The Ultratherm is *not* a wire element in
a pad, so does not suffer from the problems associated with that design
(hot spots, failure due to broken element). It is very reliable, and
doesn't damage plant growth (as some fishkeepers think) or need undergravel
filtration. Heating is even. The design has won a Japanese Ministry of
Trade award (very rare for Brit things!).

I love the device, and since it costs about the same as a convetional
heater, prefer to use one. It is *totally* different to the Dupla wire
thing buried in the sediment. Much cheaper and easier to set up, but doing
the same job.

I don't work for the company, or even know them, but just approve of the
design and feel it is a low-cost solution to some aquarium problems. Good
design, like this pad and Macintosh computers are things I feel happy to
evangelise!

The company is:

Ultratherm (Heating) Ltd,
18 Woodgate Way South,
Eastfield Industrial Estate,
Glenrothes,
Fife, KY7 4PF.
SCOTLAND, U.K.

The mats cost from under 14 pounds-sterling (about 20 US-dollars) for a
12inch by 36inch model. They are very light, so I expect that delivery,
even to the US, would be inexpensive. I have no idea if these things are
sold in the US.

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From  Neale Monks' Macintosh PowerBook, at...

Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD
Internet: N.Monks at nhm_ac.uk, Telephone: 0171-938-9007

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