# [Wet Thumb Forum]-heater home (removing heater from tank)



## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

Hey, 
I'm not sure if this will work but i'm gonna give it a try! 
You comments are welcome.

The idea is to put the heater inside of this contraption!
The output of the canister filter will attach to the bottom barb, 
the heater can just sit right inside, 
the top will be open so I can pull the heater out easily to adjust it!

What do you think?
Will the water spend enough time around the heater for this to work?

Here is some pics,

Parts (sorry I already assembled a couple pieces)









Here is the whole thing together,









Here is how it will look on the tank 
(this is not the tank it is going on, I just placed it on the front of this small tank for a pic!)









Top view,


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

That is truely a CLEVER solution!

I think it will work fine. I would recomend trying to find a way to keep the heater from touching the PVC. With an upward current, the bottom of the heater is bound to be pushed to one side or the other.

A possiblity would be to use a heater that has a gaurd on it, much like a heater that is advertised for use with "active" fish that would bump it often. That would be enough to keep the hotter parts of the PVC.

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http://www.geocities.com/kfh227- go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.
Note: I havn't maintained the site lately.


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## Guest (Jun 10, 2003)

Mike,

Good idea but what is the purpose of it ?

Honestly,

- Whole structure is kind of big. How would you mount it outside. I would hate to look at the tank and see a PVC pipe sticking out on the back of the tank. 
- Don't you think this setup will be loud as for as filtration passing through ?
- You mentioned availability of controlling heater w/o getting wet. Well, how about buying Titanium Pro which has controller on the outside, lays flat behind driftwood, cable is placed behind Java Fern --> invisible in/out of tank.

Keep us posted









Join as at www.njas.net


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

Kherman, good idea about trying to stop it from touching the sides!

Jay, Yes the whole thing is big, but the tank it is going on is 250L, it would hang over the edge of the back of the tank. The canopy that is on the tank right now is 6-8" high so that would cover/hide the top portion of the contraption. It's silent running on a 5 gallon bucket, but there is a little surface movement even with the edge of the output under water 1/4"!
I don't care about getting wet, I just want the heater out of the tank!
I mentioned leaving the top of the cylinder open so I could adjust it easily with out having to take the whole thing apart.

Now if only I could figure out how to get no sureface movement I think it would be ok!


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

"Now if only I could figure out how to get no sureface movement I think it would be ok!"

What if you added a cap to the outlet piece and drilled holes into the back of the outlet section as to throw water onto the back piece of glass of the aquarium. Then the water would be "thrown" onto the back of the glass, then falling down the glass and into the aquarium. This might limit splashing and turbuance on the surface.

You also need one big hold near the top as to act as an "uh-oh" over flow to prevent water from backing up and falling out of the aquarim. A threaded cap on top of hte whole unit might be a good idea.

---- OR ----

Or you could just extend the overflow toa ctually go into the water. That would eliminate movement and don't think a small piece sticking into the water from the top will be very noticable.

------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/kfh227- go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.
Note: I havn't maintained the site lately.


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

OK, I've had it going for almost 24hrs, it works great, i'm gonna continue using it!
It maintained the temp exactly as it was when it was it the tank! I though there might be a slight drop in temp, but there seems to be none!

I'm pretty happy I don't have to hide the heater with plants anymore!!

Kherman, your cap idea sounds OK but I really don't want any chance that it would overflow!
With the 1.5" output the is defiantly no chance of that happening!
Yeah the output is about 1/2" into the water... not noticeable!


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

a few more pics,


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## kherman (Apr 7, 2003)

So, it sounds like there is little water turbulence. That's good.

------------------------------
http://www.geocities.com/kfh227- go there and see my future fish section to see what I have planned for my next 100+ gallon tank.
Note: I havn't maintained the site lately.


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## Jon Mulzer (Mar 9, 2003)

Mike, is there any way you could put the pics back up? Or something? Someone over at the planted tank would like to see your ingenious little solution for getting the heater out of the tank.









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15XH, 36W PC, XP-1, Onyx Sand, DIY CO2

Crypts spiralis, ciliata, balansae and wendtii bronze and red, pennywort, wisteria and java fern and moss.


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## Doomer (Feb 2, 2003)

Yea, I'd like to see them too.


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

Sorry guys, just trying to make more web space!
Back up now!

I have had this hooked up to my discus tank (66gallon) since June 10th, no problems at all!
I'm not sure if I would bother making one if the tank is under 30 gallons, as it is a little cumbersome!





































*My Digital Gallery*


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## Jon Mulzer (Mar 9, 2003)

Thanks for putting it back up Mike.

I have to applaud you. While everyone else was looking for a way to make a heater cannister and make it watertight and sealed you "thought outside the box" (I hate that expression, lol) and came up with a way to do it where it didn't have to seal around the cord. Very nifty idea.









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15XH, 36W PC, XP-1, Onyx Sand, DIY CO2

Crypts spiralis, ciliata, balansae and wendtii bronze and red, pennywort, wisteria and java fern and moss.


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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

Jon, your welcome and thanks









*My Digital Gallery*


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