Rena Heating cable

[ghostcarp]

Hello everyone , sorry if posted in wrong place.

Upgraded my tank today, purchased a Fluval 800 Deep.

I have also purchased Rena Heating cable

15W 3.5 M for £28

Has anyone used this product before to help plants grow?

I plan to use Silica sand with some pure Laterite.

I know I should have checked with you guys before my purchase
Maybe I’ve bought the wrong thing.

I will be using a Fluval 3 plus and a Fluval 150W Tronic heater BTW.


Thanks

 

[smithrc]

I dont think the "Silica sand with some pure Laterite" combination will work.

If the laterite is the same sort of stuff as what we have used - it'll be small gravel.
this will rise to the top of the sand naturally and you'll endup with none round the roots of the plants.

Although i do know that you can get 'clay' laterite that you can place on the bottom of the tank so it might be that.

I'm not sure if the heating cable will work as well in sand as they are ment to with gravel due to the lack of space between the particals... its ment to help by moving nutriens past the roots due to the convection of the warmer water

We'll be re-doing our 190l planted in march/april time and will be adding heating cable so you havent wasted your money at all.

p.s. We have a fluval 800 (not deep) also with a 3+ internal and a 150W heater so your on the right lines

 

[ghostcarp]

smithrc appreciated, thank you for quick reply.

I actually really wanted black sand, I went for the finest Silica they had, I ‘ve just had another look at the stuff and its like mini gravel, if you know what I mean, hopefully work better. The Laterite seems to be quiet close to the coarseness of the mini gravel silica.

The only thing I don’t understand now is the heater cable. He He.

The cable is 3.5 m long with plug on the end, sounds stupid but does all the cable heat up or just the first 3 m.
Stupid question I think.

 

[enchanted]

Over 90% of the best planted tanks you will find contain no heating cable. It is not necessary.

Not sure about the Laterite under Sand as I didn't spend the money on it. I choose to use just normal playsand with seachem flourish tabs and all my plants are doing well.

 

[smithrc]

I know the theory behind the cables - but i have not yet used one so dont actually know about fitting first hand...

This is how i expect it to be fitted to the bottom, with the substrate being added afterwards...

Apparently the plug straight into the mains... so i guess the whole cable will heat up... They can be used in terrainums etc so it wont matter if its not in the water.

 

[fraservet]

I use a different cable so not sure about this one, but mine has a line on it where the hot part ends, leaving a bit of cold cable to get to the power source.

I use laterite with sand and there is no problem with it coming to the surface - it probably would if you live next to a train track and the tank was shaking all the time.

Just mix the laterite with sand and add a layer of pure sand on top.

Heating cables also work just as well with sand.

 

[Lateral Line]

When I get laterite, it is a fine powder. I mix it to a slurry and coat the bottom of the tank, it dries quite hard. I then cover it with swimming pool filter sand.

I have used Ultratherm under tank heaters and Dennerle in substrate cables. I know the theory, I tried it all out, I have never found them make the slightest difference.

 

[Sanj]

Hey ghostcarp,

I have a rena heating cable in my Juwel Ri0 400, it is always plugged in and to be honest i do not know how well it works?

I purchased one after reading up oon the use of heater cables in planted aqauria. Not everyone thinks they are necessary.

I think it is used not so much for immediate plant growth , but for long term sustainability of a planted aquarium. Heater cables help with nutrient cycling.

i am not sure about silica sand i have heard that it is too fine and because of compacting can lead to anaerobic spots in the substrate.