A Simple Device for Heating the 

 Aquarium. 



Dr. FREDERICK SCHNEIDER, Brooklyn. 



MUCH has been said and many 

 schemes evolved to heat the 

 househokl aquarium. I have tried many 

 methods, hut a most simple device 

 planned by a friend in Germany has 

 proven the most successful. 



Any aquarium may be made a "heat- 

 ed aquarium", provided it has a metal 

 bottom, with but little outlay, and main- 

 tained with the minimum of attention. 

 Cut from a piece of sheet zinc, or any 

 suitable metal, a funnel-shaped cone 

 (see drawing), measuring six inches in 

 diameter at the base, and three inches 

 high. The apex of the cone should be 

 cut off leaving an opening seven-eighths 

 of an inch 

 in diame- 

 ter. On op- 

 posite sides 

 and m i d- 

 w a y b e- 

 tween top 

 and bot- 

 tom, C VI t 

 holes of th 

 diameter as the top 

 as shown in cut. Of 

 the same metal make 

 a pipe or tube one 

 and one-quarter inch 

 long to fit the ter- 

 minal aperture; and two pipes 

 same diameter to fit the side holes, but 

 sufficiently long to extend at least half 

 an inch above the plane of the central 

 tube. Solder the three tubes in the 

 proper places, then put the finished 

 cone in the middle of the aquarium and 

 solder to the bottom. Cover the ends 

 of the tubes with fine wire gauze to 

 prevent the entrance of fishes or parti- 

 cles of food and dirt. 



< The tank should now be raised high 

 enough to place the source of heat 



same 



^«1"hotvx 



of the 



under it. As a heater I would suggest 

 the small German Bunsen burner called 

 "Kolibri", but any small Bunsen burner 

 with a blue flame will do. If gas is not 

 convenient an alcohol lamp, or an oil 

 lamp may be used. After filling the 

 tank with water, raise it to the proper 

 height and place the burner under the 

 middle of the cone. 



After lighting the burner you will 

 notice that the cold water enters the 

 top or middle tube and comes out warm 

 from the side openings. All the heat is 

 taken up by the water in the cone, and 

 none escapes beyond the circumference, 

 provided, the flame is centered under 

 the cone. 



The plants and their roots are in no 

 danser, as no heat will be transmited 



beyond the 

 edge of 

 the cone 

 e X c e p t 

 through 

 the water. 

 I have used 

 this meth- 

 o d for 

 about six months 

 and find it very 

 s a t is f acto r y, in 

 fact better than 

 the other methods 

 which I am also 

 using. If gas is used 

 as the source of heat but little attention 

 is required. The temperature of aqviaria 

 in one room may be varied by reducing 

 or increasing the supply of gas to the 

 burner. 



"Even without going from our own 

 neighborhood, or withdrawing from 

 spots with which we have been long 

 intimate, much may be learned in ad- 

 dition to what we yet know. It is not 

 always the animals that we are most 

 familiar with by name and frequency of 

 occurrence whose history we understand 

 the best". Rev. L. Jenyns. 



Sketch ShowinB Circulation of Water. 



