Heaters.. Angled?

[Lochrin]

Cruising through the many great threads on here.. I see pictures of some great tanks, and notice in a lot of them people have their heaters at an angle like 45 degrees or so. Did i miss a topic as to what benefits this has? The heater I just bought just had a diagram showing it be straight.

What did I miss?

 

[CezzaXV]

Apparently having it at an angle helps it to heat the water more quickly and efficiently. Hopefully someone will come along behind me with a more detailed explanation.

 

[OldMan47]

An angle has a few benefits. It keeps the heater from shutting itself off in low flow conditions by not placing the temperature sensor right above the heating element. It also places the heater lower in the tank which means you can leave it plugged in during a water change. In many of my tanks I have the heater at an angle but in others it is kept almost horizontal near the bottom of the tank. That way, even large water changes can be done without threatening the heater.

 

[fishprotector]

Some heaters can not be placed vertical. This is because the warm water which is rising can fool the thermostat into thinking that the temperature of the tank is set at the desired level, when actually it is just the recently warmed body of water moving past it. I can see no difference between horizontal or diagonal placement, but as has been said, it will increase the efficiency.

 

[Cazgar]

The thermostat in most heaters is at the top so can often switch off the heater before the tank as a whole is at the right temperature.
Having the heater at an angle can give a more even temperature in the tank, though of course you should have a thermometer to monitor the temperature

 

[Lochrin]

OK, noted. Thanks all.