I'm using a reptile heating mat under my 1 gallon jars. It of course adds some heat and helps lessen temperature swings to some degree, but I don't monitor the temperature so I'm not sure how much. Subject to room temperature there will still be temperature swings, but the mat will lessen those slightly. It is of course not the same as having a heater with a thermostat. The warmer the water gets the higher the evaporation rate will be though, which helps cool it slightly and might help prevent overheating if the room is hot and the mat is adding heat in any case.
Heat mat for 1 gal?
I'm still in the planning stages of my bowl, just waiting for plants to arrive. I've been watching the temp in the bowl over the past week with just substrate and water and it tend to swing between 68 and 76 and I want to try and keep it more stable before I add shrimp, especially with winter on the way. I want to avoid adding an internal filter if I can because my wife is tolerating my aquatic hobby and hates cable mess.
I was looking at a 6" x 5" 25w hear mat that in tems of size seems ideal, and with a low output I don't think it will be able to cook the tank with the soil and sand in the way. I'm not sure if it will have any effect either though, and the only heat mat I have to experiment with is a much more powerful heat mat from an old vivarium.
Will it actually work at keeping the tank a little more stable during winter, or am I just going to be flushing my money? It's not expensive, and I don't mind buying one to try out if nobody knows, but I would rather not waste money on an idea doomed from the start.
I was looking at a 6" x 5" 25w hear mat that in tems of size seems ideal, and with a low output I don't think it will be able to cook the tank with the soil and sand in the way. I'm not sure if it will have any effect either though, and the only heat mat I have to experiment with is a much more powerful heat mat from an old vivarium.
Will it actually work at keeping the tank a little more stable during winter, or am I just going to be flushing my money? It's not expensive, and I don't mind buying one to try out if nobody knows, but I would rather not waste money on an idea doomed from the start.
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If your talking just one bowl then they sell inexpensive mini heaters, usually under ten bucks that go in tank. I think the mat on a single unit will just waste money by trying to heat the room versus single tank. Unless the mat is just the diameter of the bowl.
I was thinking about the in tank heaters, but I want to try and avoid more hanging cables to avoid the wrath of the wife, if there's one thing she hates its cables, and birds but that's another story.If your talking just one bowl then they sell inexpensive mini heaters, usually under ten bucks that go in tank. I think the mat on a single unit will just waste money by trying to heat the room versus single tank. Unless the mat is just the diameter of the bowl.
Sounds like what I'm aiming for. During the day the room temperature is fine, I just want to keep the night time swings as low as possible since I want to add shrimp.I'm using a reptile heating mat under my 1 gallon jars. It of course adds some heat and helps lessen temperature swings to some degree, but I don't monitor the temperature so I'm not sure how much. Subject to room temperature there will still be temperature swings, but the mat will lessen those slightly. It is of course not the same as having a heater with a thermostat. The warmer the water gets the higher the evaporation rate will be though, which helps cool it slightly and might help prevent overheating if the room is hot and the mat is adding heat in any case.
If you have it working I might experiment a bit before I add anything living, had a brainwave of using my V+ box as a test bed since even on standby it kicks out a little heat, if it works at keeping the temp swings healthier I will grab the mat. If not I might experiment with drilling and sealing a heater cable into the bowl.
What sort of shrimp do you want to ad?
You likely don't need to worry about a heater at all.
You likely don't need to worry about a heater at all.
Just cherry shrimp for now and see how it goes before I branch out. I'm keeping an eye on the temperature and I think where I have it now may be ok, but isn't the most stable as it ontop of a speaker on a double height stand.What sort of shrimp do you want to ad?
You likely don't need to worry about a heater at all.
If you're able to drill your bowl to stick a heater through then that's better of course. I bought a big bag of medium sized glass marbles and I was going to use just those as the substrate and bury the heater with them instead. I'm guessing that there should be enough flow around the spheres for there not to be any problem with the heater overheating. It's not something I've gotten around to yet, but should do so soon before winter sets in.
If it's just Cherry Shrimp, you don't need a heater.
They'll be fine with those swings. They'll actually be fine with temps down into the 50s (Fahrenheit).
They'll be fine with those swings. They'll actually be fine with temps down into the 50s (Fahrenheit).
Handy to know thank you
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