Plane heating with a transparent heater film in a fish tank

Abstract

The water temperature in a fish tank is important for fish health. A conventional aquarium heater produces localized heating that causes water temperature variation, resulting in thermal stress to fish. This study presents plane heating with a transparent heater film that is aesthetically attractive when applied to fish tanks. The transparent heater film comprises a metal mesh with an optical transparency of 81 %, sheet resistance of 0.6 omega/❑, and mean heating surface temperature of 57 degrees C at 20 W. In the test setup, 100 W is applied to compare an aquarium heater and a transparent heater film. Increasing the water temperature from 23 degrees C to 24 degrees C at the center of the fish tank needs 28 min with the transparent heater film operating at 33 degrees C, whereas the same temperature increase needs 50 min with an aquarium heater operating at 49 degrees C. The planar heater thus results in enhanced heat diffusion and reduced water temperature variation due to its extended heating surface area.