Opinions on heaters

[Back in the fold]

I think the little thermostats in them are just a bit on the weak side. Also the heater coil is kind of light duty.

 

[seangee]

So far I guess the only issue that could arise from using a overpowered temperature regulated heater like this is how often it would be switching on and off possibly wearing the heater itself down.

That should not be an issue. I don't know if they list the range in the specs but I have just chucked out a cheapie heater because it triggered with just a 0.1C change which means it is continually turning itself on and off. Mine are set to allow a full degree drop (that's 2F) before they come on.

 

[Mstansbury0704]

Everything I know Especially on heater coils and most electronics usually in general is it’s the thermal cycles that hurt them the most. It’s the thermal contraction and expansion that has to do with heating up then cooling down. I.E it’s best to run a smaller heater for 2 hours than have a massive heater run for 5 minutes then shut off and then turn back on 15 minutes later, then repeating the cycle over and over all day Thus making several thermal cycles on it, in my old trade this was known as short cycling and blindly assuming water reacts close to the same as air this in theory would lead to uneven temperatures in your water as it does dwellings... However, I went with a Neotherm 50 watt.

 

[Back in the fold]

Thanks Stan, that certainly adds something to think about. Sounds right too.

 

[Mstansbury0704]

Yes, it’s kind of my speculations, not that I think it would matter in my baby 5.5gallon but for those with aquariums greater than 40 gallons that have spent a lot of money it might be worth mentioning, as I know with HVAC people commonly mistake a bigger furnace and or AC unit is better when in fact it’s horrible for comfort. Too big of a furnace creates scorching hotspots that quickly satisfy the thermostat and shut right back off and oversized ac don’t get to run long enough to dehumidify your home making you hot and sticky even at a temperature you should be comfy at.. However, I’m glad I went with the 50watt, as I think a 75 watt may have been a bit much.. now my issue is sometimes my fish gets stuck on the inlet strainer of my filter. Idk if he’s stuck or just hanging out. Either way I think I’ll try to find some kind of mesh or sponge to put over it. Also should I look into these bio filters or balls or whatever it is I’ve seen people stuff in their filter housings?? I think it’s for good bacteria to live in?

 

[Back in the fold]

Yes, it’s kind of my speculations, not that I think it would matter in my baby 5.5gallon but for those with aquariums greater than 40 gallons that have spent a lot of money it might be worth mentioning, as I know with HVAC people commonly mistake a bigger furnace and or AC unit is better when in fact it’s horrible for comfort. Too big of a furnace creates scorching hotspots that quickly satisfy the thermostat and shut right back off and oversized ac don’t get to run long enough to dehumidify your home making you hot and sticky even at a temperature you should be comfy at.. However, I’m glad I went with the 50watt, as I think a 75 watt may have been a bit much.. now my issue is sometimes my fish gets stuck on the inlet strainer of my filter. Idk if he’s stuck or just hanging out. Either way I think I’ll try to find some kind of mesh or sponge to put over it. Also should I look into these bio filters or balls or whatever it is I’ve seen people stuff in their filter housings?? I think it’s for good bacteria to live in?

Well if that's just speculation I think it's correct. What you stated about A/C and heating backs you up. I once had an A/C that was too big and I had the problem you mentioned. But one other thing that bugs me about the new heaters is the mounting suction cups. They pop loose all the time. Really gravels me to have to reach in and fix that.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

per mStansbury:

"However, I’m glad I went with the 50watt, as I think a 75 watt may have been a bit much.. now my issue is sometimes my fish gets stuck on the inlet strainer of my filter. Idk if he’s stuck or just hanging out. Either way I think I’ll try to find some kind of mesh or sponge to put over it. Also should I look into these bio filters or balls or whatever it is I’ve seen people stuff in their filter housings?? I think it’s for good bacteria to live in? "

Most, if not all, filters have some type of biomedia that encourage the good bacteria to live in. With most filters that means small ceramic pieces, little donuts or balls, other just use a regular filter - which means when you throw it out you lose all you good bacteria.

Read up on the section on the forum called "cycling your tank". If you have fish, it's kind of too late to follow those instructions but the cycling will happen eventually (usually 4-6 weeks). I have all AquaClear filters and they come with 3 stages of filtration - a foam pad, a charcoal pad and the biomedia. I will rinse out (in old tank water) the sponge and, in clean water the carbon or just throw them out after a couple of months but I leave the biomedia in there all the time. The fish is not supposed to get into the filter - with an aquaclear they couldn't. Sounds like your filter was built with the idea you could add other media - if there is only one pad in there, there may be other media available, like charcoal or beads etc Eventually it will get kind of grimy in there so I don't think that's a good place for your fish to live, but it's pretty cute.

 

[Mstansbury0704]

My filter is a topfin 10g.
Has a white fiberish filter and then what looks like a blue plastic insert piece. I’d try to upload photos but I guess iPhone photos won’t work.. and I didn’t cycle the aquarium but for maybe 20 hours. I did use stress coat+ and the quick start stuff. I actually sometimes still put a drop or two in the back reservoir right behind the filter media. Whenever I do a water change I use the stress coat kind of heavy. The Betta still has some slight fin rot from petsmart on his pectoral fins. The stresscoat with aloe seems to be helping