Heater Question

[noclueman]

http/www.petco.com/productlisting.asp?ta...s&dept_id=1110&

Here is a list of suggested heaters for tank sizes.

My question is: How much does it really matter what size heater you get? I have a 55 gallon tank and I already have a 50 watt heater. I realize according to these adds that I can only heat up to 20 gallons of water. But it doesn't make sense to me, will it just use a lot more power to heat 55 gallons? Or does the water cool off faster than the heater can heat?

Thanks for any info,
noclueman

 

[yhbae]

It does depend on the ambient temperature of the room where the tank is located. Obviously, if you keep your room at 77F all the time, you don't need a heater at all... (well, I still would for insurance, but you see what I mean).

50w sounds too low for a 55g though... Depending on your room temp, I'd go with TWO 100w or 150w heaters...

 

[Tempestuousfury]

The heater is only used to keep the water warm, and if the room temperature is close to the tank temperature, then it takes less heat to keep the tank conditions up.

I'd say get another heater with low wattage if you can. Reasons:
2 heaters means that if one breaks, the other works
If one sticks in the on position, the other will turn off and the original heater won't be able to kill the fish before you notice

 

[K-Holed]

Less is more when it comes to heaters IMO. You're better to go for a smaller heater (or ideally two). If your heater sticks in the 'on' position, a small heater will take much longer to warm the aquarium to disatorous levels. also Using two heaters, places at either end of your aquarium, will distribute the heat more evenly.

If you're interested I found this heating chart, I personally think its a bit round the houses, for working out your heater size.

Heater size chart

 

[yhbae]

Yup that's the one I normally use...

Unfortunately where I live, it gets quite cold during the winter, and I leave the living room temp to 50F... I need to take account up to 27F difference in the worst case. So in my case, I would need to get around 250w-300w worth of heating in a 55g...

This is an extreme case though...

As K-Holed mentioned, get the lowest possible rating that comfortably fits your environment....