Cable Heater for my 90gal tank... Good or Bad???

[AquariumFreak]

Hey Gang,

With all the books I have been reading I am tempted on getting a cable heater for my tank. I have read here that they aren't well liked because they tend to get tangled up with the roots of the plants and cause a big mess.

At http://www.aquariumlandscapes.net/ they sell plates that go over the top of the cable heater, I would think this would fix the problem?

Are there any other problems I should know about?

Thanks,

Jeff

P.S. I was also wondering if I should still mix in some Laterite with the first 1/3 of my Eco-Complete or would that be over kill?

 

[Guest]

I bought the cable heater from those exact guys, but NOT the plates. Big mistake, roots entangled, cable came loose, not using it any more.

However, My plants do EXACTLY the same without the heater, which is to say excellent!

 

[AquariumFreak]

I guess the plates prevent that from happening. Only reason I wonder about it is the nice tanks by Takashi Amano use cable heaters

 

[Guest]

Only reason I wonder about it is the nice tanks by Takashi Amano use cable heaters

Wow, I only have his first book, don't recall anything about cable heating in that book. "Nature Aquarium World, vol. 1."

I could be wrong, happens all the time!

 

[AquariumFreak]

I spoke with Dr. Shawn Prescott who has visited over there. He is the one that has told me that it isn't vital to have but will help if you want tanks like that

 

[Guest]

From personal experience, Dr. Prescott is cool. Even though my cables didn't work out, I didn't follow his advice and get the plates, so I don't hold that against him. All other dealings w/him, he has been excellent to me. His dry goods are way pricey, plants a tad more expensive than other online dealers, but I LOVE his plants. bigger, better roots, better selection of "unusual" plants than anyone else I've dealt with online.
The fact that he will email, or talk on the phone with you, answering all questions, is fantastic also.

Only thing that bugs me is I live 20 minutes from his place of business and I'm not allowed to go pick up plants, have to pay the shipping just like someone cross-country. bummer, but he says there are rules about him not being a retail store, so I'm stuck.