Setting up a new tank this weekend.

[Flohrie]

I'm about to buy a 36x18x18 that I want to use for a planted tank.

I've been given a Dupla Heating cable of some sort but I can't tell as the rest of the label has worn away. The transformer is white and the cable is 7metres long (Any ideas?)

Since I'm in Australia and substrates like Flourite etc arn't very cheap I was going to use a thin layer of laterite which i've been able to find, covered with 3mm black gravel.

So do I put the heating cable on top of the laterite? Or a small layer of gravel then heating cable, then laterite, then gravel.

I'm starting to confuse myself. :p Any help would be great. Thanks

[Wasserpest]

I would put in first the heating cable (with suckers, I suppose) to get the right spacing between the loops. Then a thin layer of gravel, as support for the cables, and to make sure they don't touch the bottom glass. Then the laterite, then the gravel.

Assuming that it gets warm where you live, you would need some kind of temperature controller that turns off the cables when the water reaches a certain temp. Not sure if that was included in your setup.