How Long Should It Take?

[Spishkey]

ive just stuck a heater in a tank (200L) of water. the temp is at 20 degrees. i have set the heater to 28. how long should it normally take to heat the tank up? what other factors does it depend on? the room is very cold so im guessing that will make it take long (radiator broken in there) the tank is also against an outside facing wall. outside temp is minus 14 at the moment at set to drop as night draws in.

if i stuck another heater in would it warm the water quicker? or if i used a heater for a 500L tank in the 200L tank would that be better?

i need it warming up asap so i can put the fish back in, they are sat in buckets in my living room at the moment.

i cant add anymore warm water as i have no water conditioner left (spilt the blooming bottle as i was measuring it out)

 

[saz326]

If there are no fish in the tank, and you take cups of water from the tank and boil them in a kettle? Pour it back in and that will raise the tank temp up bit by bit.

Boiling water will take oxygen out of it, so only use this technique if there is plently of well oxygenated water left in the tank.

A standard 100 W and a 200W heater put out the same heat per cm of surface. The higher power units tend to simply be longer so more heat transfer area.

You could certainly add another heater. Would all help.

Oooh - If there is a light on the tank, switch it on. The light will also help to heat the water and the room.

 

[danielryan]

also if desperate, boil the kettle and pour this water into empty coke bottles (half full) and float these, as these will heat as well. but remember the displacement they will create!!!

 

[Ficious]

Yea it takes a lot of boiled water to change the temp of a tank that size. Float the hot bottles..double your heater and wrap a towel around/over it

 

[pippoodle]

whenever i need to warm a tank up quickly i nick the heaters from the other tanks 0- most of my tanks stay at 24c and dont have the heaters on anyway

 

[Truck]

also if desperate, boil the kettle and pour this water into empty coke bottles (half full) and float these, as these will heat as well. but remember the displacement they will create!!!

this wont work, if you put boiling water in a bottle, it disfigures, but even if it doesnt, it will collapse when dropped into the aquarium due to differing pressures on each side of the bottle