Heater Recomendation

[Whitey_144]

i have a 130litre tank, is it best to have 2 small heaters or 1 heater fine?

can anyone recommend a good one or 2? i'm not too fussed about price, just more concerned that they dont break and fry the fish or something.

thanks,
adam

 

[JoshuaA]

I run a 150w Interpet heater for my 125 tank, that's in quite a cold room but have had no problems at all with it. I think you're better off just getting one heater for a 130 litre tank, 2 heaters not only is unnecessary it will consume more power (just a smidgen).

I think my Interpet one was £20, very robust and feels like I'd have to hit that thing on a brick wall to break it. I'm sure you could get it cheaper on eBay but I needed it on the day.

 

[the biffster]

i was thinking more
along the lines of a 200 watt
heater for a three foot tank

the tank is three foot i
was only assuming it was

 

[Whitey_144]

yep it is a 3t tank...good assumption!

i can get a 150 W or 200W for £16. so that looks ok.

is it not safer to have 2 though? i've never done that before, but is it likely that it could get stuck on high and heat up the tank quicker than if there were 2 smaller ones and one got stuck.

has anyone ever had any incidents like this or would it take a long time to heat up the water too hot for the fish anyway? it's in quite a stable temperature room, so im not so worried if it stopped working, i should spot that soon enough to change heaters

also, does everyone have a safety case on the heater to avoid burning the fish (hopefully they're not stupid enough to swim into it!)

 

[the biffster]

yep it is a 3t tank...good assumption!

i can get a 150 W or 200W for £16. so that looks ok.

is it not safer to have 2 though? i've never done that before, but is it likely that it could get stuck on high and heat up the tank quicker than if there were 2 smaller ones and one got stuck.

has anyone ever had any incidents like this or would it take a long time to heat up the water too hot for the fish anyway? it's in quite a stable temperature room, so im not so worried if it stopped working, i should spot that soon enough to change heaters

also, does everyone have a safety case on the heater to avoid burning the fish (hopefully they're not stupid enough to swim into it!)

i would go for the 200

 

[seffieuk]

has anyone ever had any incidents like this or would it take a long time to heat up the water too hot for the fish anyway?

I have i'm afraid - they all cooked it was awful

I keep two heaters in my large tank but only one in the smaller tank - they are rena smart heater, wouldn't buy anything else

Seffie x

 

[Whitey_144]

has anyone ever had any incidents like this or would it take a long time to heat up the water too hot for the fish anyway?

I have i'm afraid - they all cooked it was awful

I keep two heaters in my large tank but only one in the smaller tank - they are rena smart heater, wouldn't buy anything else

Seffie x

oh dear, that's horrible! did it happen really quickly? and notgive you enough time to save them. what heater did that to the poor fishies?

 

[seffieuk]

It was over a weekend, when I was away! Cant remember what heater it was, but it was glass!! I lost my lovely Queen Arabesque

Seffie x

 

[the biffster]

i came down one morning
a while back to see a tank
almost boiling like a kettle
most of the fish had past
and the only ones that survived
were some guppies and some neon's
the rest died a few hours later

 

[waterdrop]

The classic thinking is to size the total heater wattage to the tank such that there is enough power to first of all maintain a sufficient tropical temperature within the house environment the tank is in, then to also have enough power to raise the water temp from low conditions to the right range in a reasonable amount of time but finally, to also not have so much wattage/power that the system is able to cook the fish if it malfunctions.

We see less planning of this is recent years because the circuits in heaters do seem to have become generally more reliable, with fewer "stuck in the on position" failures (at least in my totally non-scientific feeling about the forum posts we see.) But if you can make it work, it's still worth trying not to overpower too much. (For example, I run a 200w heater on a tank that probably only needs 140w and a 150w would probably have been a better and safer match, but the type of heater I wanted didn't come in that capacity.)

I tend to generalize 5 watts per US gallon (our forum calculator helps in cross continent conversions) as a rough wattage guideline but there are probably better guidelines.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Whitey_144]

It was over a weekend, when I was away! Cant remember what heater it was, but it was glass!! I lost my lovely Queen Arabesque

Seffie x

oh dear, poor queen!

i thought all heaters were glass. I just checked out the Rena smart and it says it's made from a plastic resin, is the element inside a plastic case which is then inside that black outer layer? did your glass heater smash and that led to the overheating or because it was just faulty?

i've not heard of the Rena smarts before, are they really new or everone happy that they are reliable?

adam x

i came down one morning
a while back to see a tank
almost boiling like a kettle
most of the fish had past
and the only ones that survived
were some guppies and some neon's
the rest died a few hours later

oh dear, another bad experience. they were some tough neon's!

i'm surprised how quick it can happen!

 

[Whitey_144]

The classic thinking is to size the total heater wattage to the tank such that there is enough power to first of all maintain a sufficient tropical temperature within the house environment the tank is in, then to also have enough power to raise the water temp from low conditions to the right range in a reasonable amount of time but finally, to also not have so much wattage/power that the system is able to cook the fish if it malfunctions.

We see less planning of this is recent years because the circuits in heaters do seem to have become generally more reliable, with fewer "stuck in the on position" failures (at least in my totally non-scientific feeling about the forum posts we see.) But if you can make it work, it's still worth trying not to overpower too much. (For example, I run a 200w heater on a tank that probably only needs 140w and a 150w would probably have been a better and safer match, but the type of heater I wanted didn't come in that capacity.)

I tend to generalize 5 watts per US gallon (our forum calculator helps in cross continent conversions) as a rough wattage guideline but there are probably better guidelines.

~~waterdrop~~

according to the calculator, my 130 litres is 34.4 US Gallons, so at 5watt per US gallon i need a 172W. so i think 200W sounds about right, should have enough to raise from low and not over the top to evaporate the fish.. what 28W more than needed not be too much?

thanks!

which heater do you prefer?

 

[Mo1959]

Just another vote for the Rena Smartheater. Love the fact that it is encased so fishies can't get burned. Also flashes to indicate if your water is not within a couple of degrees of the set temperature.

 

[Whitey_144]

Just another vote for the Rena Smartheater. Love the fact that it is encased so fishies can't get burned. Also flashes to indicate if your water is not within a couple of degrees of the set temperature.

looks like i'm leaning to the rena! yeah i read that, i like that it flashes. Does it stay lit when its nearer the right temperature and goes off at the right temp?

 

[Aqua Tom]

I have a 200w in my 180 litre (& that is oversized) so you will be well ok with a 150w. These new super duper electromagic heaters are great, they tell you when its too hot & even remind you when its the wifes birthday.

Me?

i use a thermometer