RDSB heating??

[astroboy]

I've got a remote deep sand bed: about 16 inches of aragonite mud/sand in a five gallon jug. The sides of the jug are clear so that I can see that the sand is black, and there are a few small bubbles, which I'm told indicates that anaerobic bacteria are at work converting nitrates into free nitrogen.

 

However, I've been wondering if the time it takes for water to diffuse into or out of the deep parts of the bed might be too long for the DSB to be doing much good.

 

I'm tempted to put a substrate heating coil under the jug (in my sump) and let it heat the bottom of the DSB for an hour or two perhaps every other day. The idea is that the warmed water would rise, and presumably the cooler water with NO3 would move down into the deep parts of the sand bed.

 

Just wondering, has anyone ever tried this, or having any insights?

 

Thanks!