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Heater for brine shrimp hatchery?


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Have you tried using an incandescent light bulb next to it for a heat source? A lot of people would say... Uhhh I'll get a real heater... The reality is, an incandescent light bulb is a cheap heater. 25 watt, 50 watt, 75, watt 100 watt. All put into a lamp near it, which you normally want a light anyway, and you just find what wattach you can leave on 24/7 that will add the degrees you need. I'd start with a 75 watt bulb, and then adjust the distance between the hatcher and the bulb.

Ok, let me explain why... I'm lazy. I don't want to unplug the heater every time I harvest. On top of that i'll need to rinse the header each time to get off any brine or eggs to keep from fowling the next batch. The light fixes all of those problems for me and I use a light either way anyways. 

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I like that light bulb idea I haven't tried that. I personally use a Top Fin Betta 20 watt heater with thermostat, I believe petsmart carries them. I have escaped the chore of unplugging it every time by filling a container with the tap water for the next batch, giving the heater a quick rinse, then it goes right into the new tap water while I separate and harvest.

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I use a low wattage heater with a temperature controller, since I keep my house at 68. Cory is right; it's kind of a pain to unplug and rinse the heater every day. And then there was that one time I forgot to put the temp probe back in the hatchery and woke up to brine shrimp bathwater. If I find a low-profile incandescent lamp I can mount on the wall, I might switch to that long-term.

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  • 1 month later...

I have been using a cheap little Amazon  incandescent desk lamp heat my cheap little Amazon tube hatchery. I keep it on my work bench in the garage so temperature goes up and down. I’ve gotten fairly adept at adjusting the distance of the lamp to adjust the temperature which I have to constantly monitor with a laser thermometer .  It’s all very Rube Goldberg. 
 

Since I have five schools of fry to feed now, I’ve decided to up the game and buy the big Ziss hatchery and move it all into the hall bathroom that no one but myself uses. I don’t want a 60w bulb blazing in my bathroom all night so I’m searching for an info on an appropriately small heater. Sorry for bumping up an old post but it was right on topic for me. 
 

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I’m very happy with the new Ziss setup in the hall bathroom. I choose the Hygger 15w Betta tank heater. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GFK8H9T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  Having consistent temperature makes a big difference. I’m done with sliding a desk lamp back and forth to adjust the temperature. I’ve also figured out a pimp for the difficult to use valve.  Mor to come on that. 

88AEDFCA-DAAA-4970-BDE7-2920B0DCD238.jpeg

F6E7166B-CAEA-4E28-87A3-0C96AABA6848.jpeg

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On 12/3/2020 at 6:45 PM, L.W. Wetarm said:

I’m very happy with the new Ziss setup in the hall bathroom. I choose the Hygger 15w Betta tank heater. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08GFK8H9T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1  Having consistent temperature makes a big difference. I’m done with sliding a desk lamp back and forth to adjust the temperature. I’ve also figured out a pimp for the difficult to use valve.  Mor to come on that. 

Oh my goodness, you're a lifesaver! I don't like using lamps because a) I don't have a lot of counter space in my bathroom and b) I have to constantly adjust the distance the lamp since the temperature in our house changes through out the day, especially at night. I had an adjustable 50W heater but it was really tall and kept blocking the flow of the eggs at the bottom of the Ziss hatchery. I tried a preset mini 10W Aqueon heater, but the temperature is currently reading 94°F. 😮 Hopefully, this adjustable mini heater will work better!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Interestingly enough, I found that the shape of the heater seems to matter. I got the Hygger 15W heater mentioned above, which is a rectangular shape. No matter how I mounted it (against the wall or hanging in the middle), it seemed to block water flow in certain areas of the blender. Eggs would get stuck in one corner of the blender or on the heater itself, and my hatch rate was consistently lower. 

20201216_072102.jpg.a7c96789ac5dbaa8de7a0c1f90184f43.jpg

1/4 tsp of eggs hatched with rectangular Hygger heater

When I switched to my Aqueon Pro 50W heater (which looks like a long cylinder) and hung it in the middle of the blender (so that water can freely flow underneath the heater), the hatch rate was consistently higher.

20201217_074225.jpg.31b5971a99b8c9d9513018ff53b26c40.jpg

1/4 tsp of eggs hatched with tube-shaped Aqueon heater 

Everything else was exactly the same (temperature, recipe, etc), so I guess I'll be going back to the Aqueon heater. Anyway, just my two cents if you're looking for a heater solution for the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery

20201217_082942.jpg.4222648312c316b12f274266c2d53804.jpg

Aqueon 50W heater hanging in the middle of the blender

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/23/2020 at 5:51 PM, TheDukeAnumber1 said:

I like that light bulb idea I haven't tried that. I personally use a Top Fin Betta 20 watt heater with thermostat, I believe petsmart carries them. I have escaped the chore of unplugging it every time by filling a container with the tap water for the next batch, giving the heater a quick rinse, then it goes right into the new tap water while I separate and harvest.

This is a great idea. I used it this morning. Worked great. I was so tired of the plug/unplug.

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  • 2 months later...
On 12/17/2020 at 12:57 PM, Irene said:

Interestingly enough, I found that the shape of the heater seems to matter. I got the Hygger 15W heater mentioned above, which is a rectangular shape. No matter how I mounted it (against the wall or hanging in the middle), it seemed to block water flow in certain areas of the blender. Eggs would get stuck in one corner of the blender or on the heater itself, and my hatch rate was consistently lower. 

20201216_072102.jpg.a7c96789ac5dbaa8de7a0c1f90184f43.jpg

1/4 tsp of eggs hatched with rectangular Hygger heater

When I switched to my Aqueon Pro 50W heater (which looks like a long cylinder) and hung it in the middle of the blender (so that water can freely flow underneath the heater), the hatch rate was consistently higher.

20201217_074225.jpg.31b5971a99b8c9d9513018ff53b26c40.jpg

1/4 tsp of eggs hatched with tube-shaped Aqueon heater 

Everything else was exactly the same (temperature, recipe, etc), so I guess I'll be going back to the Aqueon heater. Anyway, just my two cents if you're looking for a heater solution for the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery. 

20201217_082942.jpg.4222648312c316b12f274266c2d53804.jpg

Aqueon 50W heater hanging in the middle of the blender

@Irene Is this the heater you use? I tried mine in my Ziss Hatchery but I can’t seem to reach the minimum water level of the heater?

8F47CBCA-2DE5-4704-AFFA-E05D9C6F29F1.jpeg.5a444c69ad4ad0c1b40e6df448958bae.jpeg

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On 12/7/2020 at 7:19 PM, Irene said:

Oh my goodness, you're a lifesaver! I don't like using lamps because a) I don't have a lot of counter space in my bathroom and b) I have to constantly adjust the distance the lamp since the temperature in our house changes through out the day, especially at night. I had an adjustable 50W heater but it was really tall and kept blocking the flow of the eggs at the bottom of the Ziss hatchery. I tried a preset mini 10W Aqueon heater, but the temperature is currently reading 94°F. 😮 Hopefully, this adjustable mini heater will work better!

I tried the 5 watt mini aqueon and it cooked them too. So I put a 25 watt heater in that turns off and on and it’s working. 

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  • 1 month later...

Any good lamps or heaters that I can put in the brine shrimp hatchery that will keep it consistent? I don't understand what the point of having an adjustable heater if it is supposed to be adjustable but when you take the brine shrimp hatchery out fo rinse it the heater won't turn off. 

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I thought about using a heater, but we keep the house between 75 and 78 degrees (Florida is hot year round, AC is always going all 12 months). There was a small 50 watt Hygger that I use in nano tanks that is typical glass tube, but has an external temp dial. It is the smallest heater I’ve got. Got it on Amazon.

All that to say, with our ambient temperature, the brine hatch well in 18 to 24 hours. I use the Co-op air pump and a cheap LED light.

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