Cover Bottom of Tank ???

[JohnNJ]

A search didn't turn up any relevent posts.

My glass tank is on a stand so the bottom (and UTH) is completely exposed. Is there any benefit to covering the entire bottom with a sheet of carboard or styrofoam to seal in the heat from the UTH? Or is it bad to trap in the heat?

Thanks.
JohnNJ

[nixer]

typically yes but some uth companies seem to want an airspace below the tank(zoomed) then again with that stickon on you cant put the probe where it should be!

[Herpnut]

I found that when there's a solid underneath the UTH with only a tiny gap for air to escape all around the cage it really helped. I propped all corners up with a nickel! Every little but helps I guess.

[pillowtalk6188]

yeah def try it. are your temps not staying up? i'd leave the little space mentioned. you never know, the styrofoam could have a chemical reaction from the constant heat of being right on the uth. i've even heard of people putting insulation all the way around a tank because glass tanks suck and hold heat very poorly.

[grammie]

we covered the bottom with insulated foamcore and cut out around where the UTH is (didn't cover it). It helped tremendously! Those glass walls get cold, even the floor you're trying to heat.

btw, since I put the foamboard on the bottom and 3 sides, my heat is holding with no problem at all.

[JohnNJ]

are your temps not staying up?

The temps over the UTHs are fine but it's cooler in the other areas. I was hoping that I could raise the whole floor temp while still maintaining hot spots over the UTHs.

I'm concerned about the styrofoam insulation and the heat also. I guess a sheet of cardboard would work.

Thanks.
JohnNJ

[grammie]

cut out around the UTH and use the foamboard on the bottom. you'll be glad you did.

[JohnNJ]

cut out around the UTH and use the foamboard on the bottom. you'll be glad you did.

I was going to cover the entire bottom of the tank and leave an opening on each end. I'm trying to trap the heat from the UTH in the gap between the cardboard and the glass bottom of the tank.

I'm thinking that if I cut a hole around the UTH it would release the heat I'm trying to trap. Right?

[JLC]

There's a product called "Reflectix" (or something like that) that you can buy at any hardware store. It's inexpensive. It's an insulated padding covered with some sort of aluminum shell. Very flexible and easy to cut to size. I used to use it to cover the bottom of my tub that had a flexwatt UTH attached to it. The Reflectix reflected the heat back up and helped spread it more eavenly across the whole bottom of the tub, but still left a warmer spot where it was supposed to. I wrapped the Reflectix around two sides of the tub and left the ends unwrapped and open to allow for some air to flow around the heat source.

Even so....it's usually very difficult to properly heat a glass aquarium with just a UTH, no matter how effeciently the bottom is covered. What is the rest of your set-up like. Do you have the sides insulated? Do you use any sort of overhead heating? What are the ambient temps in the room and do they fluctuate much?

[JohnNJ]

I just found this site:

http://www.garieinternational.com.sg...aking_foam.htm

According to the "test" you could heat styrofoam safely to 130 degrees C without fumes. That's 266 degrees F. Much hotter than a UTH.