I keep my house at 76 year round? Does that sound like something you would say?
odds are YES!
God I hear this so many times, and today I put it in print, in my opinion of course, based on DECADES of exp.
Ok, ok , if your like bill gates rich, and have the best of insulated homes and you never change you thermostat.....maybe.
But if you are one of the other broke tank owners, like me, then you probably change your house temp. to what ever extreme you can handle without the power bill going throught the roof. You know in the winter, in the middle of the night, when you got to go pee pee, its cold as hell in that bathroom!! Well that same temp swing is happening to your fish tank.
Since we know that enviromental changes ie. temp shifting etc can cause fish illness, keeping the temp. the same 24/7 is important. Since it is much more costly to chill the tank to maintain a temp., heating is the more common option. Answer to the Q's? YES buy a heater.
What size to buy? most of them are marked on the package, but assuming your house is not to far from out target temp. of 78 degrees f., I recommend smaller than bigger. Why? because if something goes wrong with the heater and the contacts stick, you have a smaller chance of having your friends over for a tropical fish boil at your place.
What type of heater should you buy?....thought you would never ask. I say this is one area not to save pennies on, buy the best you can afford. Preferably: Submersible , with precalibrated temp settings, and the new ones that dont break when taken out of water are a big plus. Rough cost about 25-39.00 bux.
Do I really need a heater...
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Doug
- Site Admin
- Posts: 229
- Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2004 11:26 am
- My SetUp: 1984: 90 gal. saltwater, O'Dell tank, Oceanic Systems cabinet stand, (2) Perfecto 48" strip lights with Vita-Lite Power Twists, Aqualogy Bio-Grade Plus Undergravel filter, (2) Hagen Aquaclear 800 power heads, Eheim 2217 canister filter with Chemi-Pure, Hawaiian Marine Angstrom 2537 UV sterilizer
I aways used to recommend a rule-of-thumb of about 3 watts per gallon. So, that means 100 watts for a 29 or 30 gal; 150-200 watts for a 55 to 75 gallon, etc. This assumes a typically heated or air-conditioned environment. Two important things to remember about a heater are:
1. It's not so much that it's heating the water as it's thermostatically-controlled and maintaining the temperature of the water. Temperature variances of more than 2 degrees in a 24-hour period represent a potentially-stressful environmental change to fish, and stress opens the door for opportunistic diseases.
2. More is not necessarily better. A too-big heater will be cycling on and off too often, creating a hot spot in your tank. Always try to match the wattage to the tank size using the rule of thumb.
1. It's not so much that it's heating the water as it's thermostatically-controlled and maintaining the temperature of the water. Temperature variances of more than 2 degrees in a 24-hour period represent a potentially-stressful environmental change to fish, and stress opens the door for opportunistic diseases.
2. More is not necessarily better. A too-big heater will be cycling on and off too often, creating a hot spot in your tank. Always try to match the wattage to the tank size using the rule of thumb.