Nano With No Heater

[Zonatie]

So I am about to set up an ADA 60f mixed reef system with very basic equipment. A light and a wavemaker...
That's it!
I spend a lot of time at home, so the high maintenance has never really bothered me.
However, what I have forgotten about is heating.
I live in Sydney Australia, where the weather is fairly warm. But, I am very worried about the stability of the aquariums temperature without a heater. Especially during winter, where night time temperatures dip.

Does anyone here have a heaterless nano with some what demanding corals that can share their experiences.
Thanks!

 

[Gareth elliott]

Have it running for a spell with no inhabitants and a thermometer. Your light on a nano might act like a heater. If this keeps the day light temp up. Might be able to do something simple at night like a Place a water jug on a seedling heat mat next to the tank and heat it passively. If night temps were an issue. (This is how you heat a green house without an actual heater, sun heats drums of water. At night emits the heat)
During the day move so no one sees it lol

 

[Zonatie]

Ok, I may just give it a go.

 

[Backreefing]

A heater is so cheap and so basic why think about it . Good luck

 

[Zonatie]

A heater is so cheap and so basic why think about it . Good luck

And very ugly...

 

[Zonatie]

BTW this has nothing to do with budget. I could easily drill it, throw a sump underneath and call it a day, but this defeats the minimalist approach.

 

[ZoWhat]

The problem I have with this is Temperature Swings. I know my house can swing 5-7 degrees depending on when I have the thermostat controlling things.

I think you'll spend more money controlling your ambient house temp to control it with 2 degrees that just spending a couple of hundred dollars on a high end heater connected to a controller.




.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I have a small 5W heater in my nano just in case my pump clogs up and can no longer maintain the temperature I like. I do however have a fan tied to my reef-pi to keep it down. If I took off both the temp remains 76-79 which was too large of a swing for me.

 

[Backreefing]

There is heater pads that go under the aquarium. I never used them idk if they go under the gravel or aquarium

 

[Super Fly]

no experience but I personally wouldn't risk livestock over a heater and aesthetics when stability is key in this hobby, especially in a nano tank that's less forgiving...perhaps you may consider adding a HOB refugium to hide such equipment?

HOB-R Hang-On-Back Refugium

The AquaMaxx HOB-R Hang-On-Back Refugium is the quick and easy way to create a small ecosystem for your aquarium. A refugium helps control nitrates and phosphates in a natural way by providing space for macroalgae to grow. Macroalgae will compete with nuisance algae within the aquarium, and...

www.marinedepot.com

 

[Midrats]

The temperature on reefs changes a lot, and sometimes rapidly. As long as it stays within the acceptable range it will be fine. I've run little tanks with no heaters that dropped as low as 72 with no ill effect. If needed Cobalt makes tiny black heaters in the 5-20w range that I have used during particularly cold winters. They quite unobtrusive and have no thermostat, just a few watts to keep the temp up a bit.

 

[Zach W]

I run a 20gal SPS dominant tank and for the cost of a heater (I would recommend pairing with inkbird) I strongly urge you to get one. And a small fan that you can put on when needed in my experience. I live outside of Boston, MA which has cold winters and temp fluctuations would be an issue. In terms of light acting as a heater, this is definitely true. Whenever my apartment is ~72F or higher the inkbird will kick on my fan to cool everything off, and I keep my tank at 78F.

Inkbird:

 

[Zonatie]

Once again, I don't want to add obtrusive equipment to the tank.
Thanks to those that actually provided helpful information.

 

[Zach W]

Once again, I don't want to add obtrusive equipment to the tank.
Thanks to those that actually provided helpful information.

That is fine and it’s totally your decision, you can make your tank however you choose. Many people are just informing you that you will have a healthier more successful system in the long run if you can maintain a stable temperature without big swings throughout the day.

 

[Zonatie]

I understand. This is a bit obvious.
However, I was only looking for suggestions that may aid the construction of this 'crazy simplistic system'.
My larger tank is for the clutter.
I do understand that everyone just wants my results to be as successful as possible, even if that means scrapping my intentions.

 

[Halo_003]

Just a thought but have you looked at doing lily pipes and a canister filter? Hydor (I believe) made a 200W in-line heater, not sure if they still do, but I used to run a tank with that setup several years ago and it worked out really nicely. More equipment but you can easily hide those and the lily pipes are near invisible when clean.

Edit: another idea, what if you lined the bottom of the tank with that wire that is used to make heated floors?

 

[Zonatie]

Just a thought but have you looked at doing lily pipes and a canister filter? Hydor (I believe) made a 200W in-line heater, not sure if they still do, but I used to run a tank with that setup several years ago and it worked out really nicely.

I did actually, but I can't find any companies that produce a reliable inline heater. The Hydor one doesn't look like it's available anymore. There are a few brands on eBay that I have considered, it's just the lack of reviews that make me nervous.
If there is an Inline heater people recommend, that would be great.
If I did go that route, would you say it's possible to eliminate the powerhead? Take into account that the aquarium is only 18cm (7") deep.

 

[Zonatie]

That is fine and it’s totally your decision, you can make your tank however you choose. Many people are just informing you that you will have a healthier more successful system in the long run if you can maintain a stable temperature without big swings throughout the day.

Sorry if I come off a bit rude. I've been a member of a certain reef forum for too long where you will not survive by being polite.

 

[Halo_003]

I did actually, but I can't find any companies that produce a reliable inline heater. The Hydor one doesn't look like it's available anymore. There are a few brands on eBay that I have considered, it's just the lack of reviews that make me nervous.
If there is an Inline heater people recommend, that would be great.
If I did go that route, would you say it's possible to eliminate the powerhead? Take into account that the aquarium is only 18cm (7") deep.

So I think it is possible but you need to ensure there’s some kind of surface disturbance. Some of the lily pipe designs force the water upwards and I think one of those could work.

With a standard lily pipe that blows down and out, I think you’d want another form of surface disturbance. I did it on a 12G long 36”x9”x9” roughly with a standard lily pipe, and I lost two fish when I ran it at first because I had no surface disturbance so no oxygen exchange. I’d still recommend some kind of power head based on that. Maybe an MP10 or something low profile like some of the Tunze options.

 

[Zonatie]

So I think it is possible but you need to ensure there’s some kind of surface disturbance. Some of the lily pipe designs force the water upwards and I think one of those could work.

With a standard lily pipe that blows down and out, I think you’d want another form of surface disturbance. I did it on a 12G long 36”x9”x9” roughly with a standard lily pipe, and I lost two fish when I ran it at first because I had no surface disturbance so no oxygen exchange. I’d still recommend some kind of power head based on that. Maybe an MP10 or something low profile like some of the Tunze options.

I did notice while watching videos of lily pipes that the surface agitation was lacking.