Is This Heater Too Powerful?

[maisy12345]

Hi ,have just bought a 11o l tank and it`s come with a 200w heater ,but when i turn it right down,it doesn`t go below 27 degrees ,and i need it to be 24,should i replace it with a 100w ,which i `d bought originally,as on the box it says the 200w is for 90-180l and the 100w is for 45-90l. will this be enough or will i have to go up to the 150w?
What is every ones experience of heaters ,thanks in advance?

 

[StandbySetting]

100W will be sufficient, if the heater isn't functioning properly bin it, it's not worth risking using it.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks it is functioning properly ,i just think it`s too powerful should it be able to turn down further then,as can`t get it to go down lower than 27,would take it back,but the shops miles away ,if i go near to it i will ,in the meantime i`ll switch it to the 100 w ,thanks?

 

[StandbySetting]

Well it should operate lower than 27, are you giving it time to cool?

 

[maisy12345]

Yes,put the heater on yesterday ,but will keep eye on it if it doesn`t go down within next few hours will assume its faulty,and will change it for my 100w ,thanks

 

[StandbySetting]

A few hours isn't long enough, give it 12 hours before making a judgement.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks I will ,and let you know.

 

[Caprichoso]

You can run into issues with overheating if you have a heater that is too high in watts compared to the size of tank it's going to be in. For example, I had to quickly set up a 5 g hospital tank and the only heater I had was for tanks up to 40g. I didn't adjust the temp setting for it as it was set for 76F. Within 3 hours, the tank temp had gone up to 82F!! Thank goodness there were no fish in it yet! I couldn't understand why it happened as it worked fine in my 30 g tank. I think that by the time it's internal mechanism recognized that it should shut off, it had already put out too much heat. So, to answer your question, yes you should only have a heater that's meant for your tank size.

 

[maisy12345]

It was supplied with my new tank,and it`s for a 90-180l ,my tanks 110l.

 

[andyjw1]

If you water isnt getting cold enough then your heater is faulty, or your room is too warm, or your lighting too powerful. The thermostat on the heater should turn the heater off when the surrounding water reaches the set temperature, if your water is getting too warm then this isnt happening so dont use the heater, or see what else is warming the water.
Try taking the heater out and see what happens.
When sizing, you should try to aim for the mid point of a heaters range if possible, if your tank is getting to the top or bottom of the range, then get the next sized heater.