Dry start

[jon32]

Hi, just bought an aquanano 40 and a bag of aquasoil amazonia and really want to have a go at the dry start method. I'm wondering what would be the best way to heat the tank during this phase?
A heating mat doesn't seem feasible as the tank stands on four small feet. Would a vivarium heater do the job? or would it be okay to fill up the filter/heater chamber with water and run the heater in that? Is it even necessary at all? my concerns are that it does get quite cool at night this time of year when the old ch goes off.

cheers

Jon

 

[nayr88]

I guess you could try n buy the old style heating mat/cable used for planted tanks.
I've never heated my DSM nano just left it covered and misted every couple of days.

 

[LondonDragon]

I don't see the point of heating either, unless the room temps drop to under 15C

 

[foxfish]

From my experience, heating the tank to just above room temp works very well due to the condensation & hight humidity caused inside the tank. Not very good for viewing but great for the plants!

 

[jon32]

Thanks for the replies. It's been mild as of late so I was thinking that no heating would be fine. However the temp really plummeted last night and reminded me of how cold it can get in this room overnight, so I think I'll try and keep it just above room temp as foxfish suggests and see how it goes.

Cheers