I bought the wrong size heater!!!!!!

[Nina7777]

hi all-

Ok so i went against my best judgement and went to walmart for a heater, where i then stupidly made the mistake of asking the "fish specialist" which size heater i should buy.

(i forgot the general rule of 5 watts per gallon) DUH

So I ended up with a 25 watt heater for a 10 gallon tank.

I bought some Mickey Mouse Platties today (just 2 little ones, but not from walmart!) and the temp reads 72 degrees.

But i am used to setting the temp between 76-78 degrees.

Obviously tomorrow I will be going to my LFS (not walmart ) to get a 50 watt heater.

Will my fish be ok for tonight? Or sould I leave the light on for tonight and all of tomorrow. I don't want to stress the fish though since they are brand new

HELP!

 

[Woody]

I'm interested to see what others say, but I think you'll be fine. A 25W heater might even do a fairly good job of keeping your tank warm -- especially if it's not compensating for a cold house -- but would likely wear out faster because it would be working harder than a more powerful heater.

 

[Nina7777]

Well that may be bad news for me then as my house is a little on the chilly side. Temp outside is only 21 degrees and temp instead is 63. I just hope they will be ok untill tomorrow night. I am definately running to pet store at lunchtime though!

 

[Adrinal]

Whatever you decide to do move the temp up slowly. Don't try to rush the tank to 78. Add 2 degrees tonight, check it in the morning. Don't add any during the day where they may cook if the temp thing doesn't work.

The temp outside doesn't matter; only the temp inside your house, unless you loose your heat alot? Its how much energy the heater has to use to compensate for the room temp vs tank temp.

 

[mrV]

If it is adjustable, it doesn't matter if the heater is 25W or 200W. It heats until water is warm enough. Smaller heater must be "on" longer than bigger.

If it's not adjustable, throw it through window and buy adjustable one (Personaly I woudn't buy a heater that cannot be adjusted.)

 

[Nina7777]

the 25 watt is adjustable......i have it all the way up though, and water does not get above 73 degrees. I am buying a 50 watt this afternoon though, because i swiped the 25 from my bettas tank and his water was a little cool this morning.

 

[mrV]

Oh no.. Probably your room temperature is too low and the heater aren't able to heat enough. Yes, better to buy bigger I would probably be an ice-stick, if temperature droped down to 63F

 

[Nina7777]

lol mrV- trust me its not pleasant, but thats good ole new england! expecting 6-12 inches of snow today