Heater placement

Rae C. · 08/30/2008, 10:07 AM

I'm getting very frustrated with my heaters. I have two for my 65 gallon, one in each back corner. The suction cups keep coming off and then the heaters swing in the current. One keeps burning my toadstool leather. The other collects lots of detritus and is growing a thick green fur coat. I've moved the one by the leather to the front corner of the tank -- not very attractive.

Can a heater touch the sand? Can I lay it on the sand bed? I read a thread that suggested putting the heater in the protein skimmer. My protein skimmer does not have enough room, what about the refugium?

fatdaddy · 08/30/2008, 04:09 PM

I keep mine in my sump. Two things that I can recommend:

* Use a little vegetable oil condition the suction cup. Sometimes the plastic gets a little dry so it doesn't suction to the glass any more. I do this to my powerheads after I clean them.

* Yes, put it in the sand and put a live rock on the cord. That is what I do in my QT tank. Don't bury it because it needs some circulation, but if it's touching live rock or sand, it's no big deal.

tb_bucs · 08/30/2008, 04:20 PM

sump for me also does great

Rae C. · 08/30/2008, 04:28 PM

I don't have a sump, I have an HOB fuge and skimmer. Would it still work?

Landon B. · 08/30/2008, 08:34 PM

Make sure you scrape the glass really good with a razor blade. Then clean up the cups. I like the vegetable oil idea.

otrlynn · 08/30/2008, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Landon B.
Make sure you scrape the glass really good with a razor blade. Then clean up the cups. I like the vegetable oil idea.

+1 for cleaning the glass with a razor blade. The suction cups really do stick a lot better on very clean glass.

ludnix · 08/30/2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by out
I don't have a sump, I have an HOB fuge and skimmer. Would it still work?

You could definitely place them in the fuge. I don't know the circulation or sizes, but if it's cycling water to the main tank it should work just fine.

Rae C. · 08/30/2008, 10:05 PM

Cool, I'm laying one heater on the sand at one end of the tank, putting the other in the fuge. We'll see what the temp in the tank looks like in the morning.

I had a lot of green coraline on the glass. Took a LOT of scraping. Now the water looks clearer! It was all on the glass!

08/30/2008, 10:07 AM	#1
Rae C. Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 916	Heater placement I'm getting very frustrated with my heaters. I have two for my 65 gallon, one in each back corner. The suction cups keep coming off and then the heaters swing in the current. One keeps burning my toadstool leather. The other collects lots of detritus and is growing a thick green fur coat. I've moved the one by the leather to the front corner of the tank -- not very attractive. Can a heater touch the sand? Can I lay it on the sand bed? I read a thread that suggested putting the heater in the protein skimmer. My protein skimmer does not have enough room, what about the refugium? __________________ Rae C It's 8:30, kids. Turn off the tank and go to bed! Current Tank Info: 65 gal, softies, 1 mandarine, 1 clown

08/30/2008, 04:09 PM	#2
fatdaddy Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Northeast Florida Posts: 1,191	I keep mine in my sump. Two things that I can recommend: * Use a little vegetable oil condition the suction cup. Sometimes the plastic gets a little dry so it doesn't suction to the glass any more. I do this to my powerheads after I clean them. * Yes, put it in the sand and put a live rock on the cord. That is what I do in my QT tank. Don't bury it because it needs some circulation, but if it's touching live rock or sand, it's no big deal. __________________ "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -- Aristotle

08/30/2008, 04:20 PM	#3
tb_bucs Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: west chester ohio Posts: 94	sump for me also does great __________________ Todd Ferrill Current Tank Info: 40 breeder sps closed loop ,asm skimmer,250 watt pheonix

08/30/2008, 04:28 PM	#4
Rae C. Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 916	I don't have a sump, I have an HOB fuge and skimmer. Would it still work? __________________ Rae C It's 8:30, kids. Turn off the tank and go to bed! Current Tank Info: 65 gal, softies, 1 mandarine, 1 clown

08/30/2008, 08:34 PM	#5
Landon B. Premium Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 61	Make sure you scrape the glass really good with a razor blade. Then clean up the cups. I like the vegetable oil idea. __________________ "Ideas are meant to be shared." Current Tank Info: 40 Breeder Mixed Reef

08/30/2008, 10:05 PM	#8
Rae C. Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 916	Cool, I'm laying one heater on the sand at one end of the tank, putting the other in the fuge. We'll see what the temp in the tank looks like in the morning. I had a lot of green coraline on the glass. Took a LOT of scraping. Now the water looks clearer! It was all on the glass! __________________ Rae C It's 8:30, kids. Turn off the tank and go to bed! Current Tank Info: 65 gal, softies, 1 mandarine, 1 clown