In Search Of Heat ;)

[Snarf]

Hi all,

I'm new to this forum as I just started again with aquaria, after a >10yr break.
You know; get married + have kid, etc..=end hobby. Untill what do you know, the kid is showing interest in fishies

Now I tried getting a nice >80ltr tank in the living, but as it's a 'democracy' in the house the family chose for a .... Fluval Edge .... *sigh*
(but hey at least there's a "tank" back in the house)

Anyhow the tank has been started, everything in it and running, BUT.... the thing had a "A-756 Fluval Compact Aquarium heater, 25 Watt" and it just doesn't work! now I read some fora where more people complain about the Hagen heaters, but when looking i was a bit lost what then would be a good heater for a 23ltr tank?

thanks in advance for the advice!

Snarf

 

[KittyKat]

Any 25W heater should be fine, I normally chose a Newatt or Visitherm because they're reliable.. unless you mean that the fluval one goes inside the filter housing somehow, so has to be a special size? Also, can't you return it under warranty and get a new one?

Please teach your kids responsible fishkeeping: fish-less cycle and keep only small fish in that death trap aquarium! Lots of info about it around

 

[london_kev]

I use a Vistatherm 50w heater in my 25liter tank. Usally the rule is 1w = 1 liter but if you decide to upgrade to a bigger tank at leaset you wont have to buy and new heater etc.

 

[Snarf]

Thanks for the replies !

Are the ones mentioned for fully submerged use ?

And has anyone some good/bad experiances with the Hydor Theo 25W ?

Thanks,
Snarf

 

[KittyKat]

As far as I am aware, all modern in-aquarium heaters are fully submersible.

I can't say anything specifically about the Hydor, but I've used maybe half a dozen or a dozen different brands of heater and the only difference between the Visitherm/NeWatt and the rest were that the others' temperature dials started off or became misaligned quicker. The only times I have had heaters actually break was when I was being an idiot and dunking hot heaters in cold water.

I recommended NeWatt and visitherm not only for their reliability but also because NeWatt is made of a polymer, it won't shatter if you drop it, while the Visitherm comes with a guard (which most heaters don't), so it kids-not-being-careful proof too.

 

[Snarf]

Any 25W heater should be fine, I normally chose a Newatt or Visitherm because they're reliable.. unless you mean that the fluval one goes inside the filter housing somehow, so has to be a special size? Also, can't you return it under warranty and get a new one?Please teach your kids responsible fishkeeping: fish-less cycle and keep only small fish in that death trap aquarium! Lots of info about it around

lol... deathtrap... Yeah, it sure is something different from the aquaria I once had, but that's a different story...

I looked at the Newatt and indeed like it alot.

BUT found a different limitation that the Edge tank has
If you know the tank model a bit; the thing is full of water with a closed top and the maximum height left (taking the gravel and such in mind) is about 18cm, if I use a longer one it would have to be mounted by the opening but then I get in the way of the filter outlet and also the halogen lights would kinda effect the temperature measurent of the heater I guess.

So it also needs to be a mini heater no longer then 18cm.... *sigh*
Can't find any measurements online on the Visitherm 25W, do you know
EDIT, i just found the lenght, it's 19,5cm... a tad to long

So I'm still open for other suggestions.

As for the responsible fish-keeping, the first most important thing would be PATIENCE

 

[KittyKat]

Eh? Why can't you stick it on at a 45 degree angle? Otherwise, only one of mine which fits the description is a really old Tronic by Fluval..

 

[Snarf]

It'll be a bit harder to 'hide', but indeed you're right and it takes away the size limitations.

now that's done, back to thinking about what to stock...
(or more how to convince my kid you can't put 30+ fish in a 23ltr tank)

 

[KittyKat]

"You should have picked the tank I wanted?"

 

[Snarf]

LOL !

but then i would have some issues with my wife's taste in how the living room should look like

 

[KittyKat]

"The algae's there because the tank is not where I said it should go"?

 

[Snarf]

I'll keep that one in mind, maybe it'll also work like "yeah, the algae's wouldn't be there if we'd got the 80ltr tank like I wanted in the first place.

but anyways the one thing that is perfect is the tank placement, no direct sun, no windows/doors/radiator next to it.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Well, I'm sure in a month or 2 you will be looking for a bigger tank, your wife will say " is that all the fish we can keep? But I really like that one!"

You will I'm sure get your 80litre maybe even a nice 4' one lol.

But if fish do die you can blame the size of the tank, because the thing with smaller tanks they fluctuate much more than bigger ones, as there is more water to keep things stable

 

[Snarf]

thanks for all the comments!
I really love this forum and site!! Wish it had been at my disposal back when I had my large tanks...

But indeed it's going to be tricky to maintain the Edge 'tank' but don't we all just love a good challenge

Since cylce was complete and temp is now sorted (altough ART was good lately and in combination with the halogen lights kept it nicely between 22-25C / night-day) I finally got around to populating the 'tank' today.

Was quite fun choosing with the family, I chose 2 corydoras habrosus, my wife 2 rasbora hengeli and then my kid ...
First he wanted the 30cm Shark in the LFS then the Piranha's but finaly we got him towards the Endlers/Poecilia crossbreed because they colour so nice so we took 4 of them to top it off.

Now let's see how the Edge will further develop the next coming months (and yes the desire for that 80ltr is still very much there)

EDIT; perhaps if time alows I'll open a post to give updates about the Edge and how things develop....

 

[KittyKat]

*facepalm*