Question About Heaters.

[l_l_l]

Hi! I have purchased a 50W heater last week, in the intention of heating my 20gallon to a 25c and I seem to be struggling getting it to that temperature..
It is always hovering at a 23C, which is not acceptable for my Betta and Tetras, etc.
I am still trying to calibrate the heater but I am debating of :
 
A: return the heater to the store, get another one (75W?)
B: Buy another 50W heater and put it on the other side of the tank, meaning, even heat distribution, and backup heater in case one dies..
C: Work it till it's at the right temperature and leave it there.
 
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Your opinions?
It's only a 20Gallon so..
 

 

[haleem8777]

If you can not raise it to the temperature i think you should return it and get a stronger one.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ok, first of all, as a general rule of thumb 1w = 1L
 
Your tank is a 30 US Gals, which is about 75 litres, so therefore you would be best with a 75w heater, 50w is a little too low really especially in cooler climates or winter season.
 
So i would advise you to get at least a 75w heater for your tank.
Or as you suggest, get another 25w or 50w to put in as addition to the 50w you already have in the tank, like a backup if anything goes wrong with one heater.
 
That should do the trick of keeping temp steady for your Betta 

 

[haleem8777]

Thats a really good idea from ch4rlie as it can not harm to have a back up heater

 

[l_l_l]

That's what I am thinking, as I don't have any backup heater right now!
I'll defenitely call the store that sold me the heater and tell them about the situation tho, because he gave me wrong advise and didn't have the 75W in stock.

 

[haleem8777]

I just learnt the hard way about having backup equipment. ( my filter broke and i could not get a new one until 4/5 days later so the majority of my tetras are now in heaven.) so i guess getting another heater is the plan.
 
And yes you should call the store as we dont want him giving the wrong advise to others

 

[Ch4rlie]

So if you going for that route, I'd prefer to get the 50w might be better, having two 50w heaters in your tank would be fine.
 
Yeah, have a word with the store and see what they say.

 

[l_l_l]

So if you going for that route, I'd prefer to get the 50w might be better, having two 50w heaters in your tank would be fine.
 
Yeah, have a word with the store and see what they say.

Just found out that a store which is near my office are having a sale on the eheim Jager
W00t
Will be picking it up tonight

 

[Ch4rlie]

There you go! Perfect! 

 

[CrimsonBoli]

Just a side note. The temperature selector knob might have been installed a little off. My old 100W I had to set at 27 to keep it at 25

 

[l_l_l]

Just a side note. The temperature selector knob might have been installed a little off. My old 100W I had to set at 27 to keep it at 25

There is a calibrator on the eheim jager I have, which should help me have it as close to the temperature indicated as possible.
Right now I'm still having issues keeping my temperature at the correct level, and I do see my heater being off some times.

 

[CrimsonBoli]

Yeh the heater wont stay on until your whole tank reaches the set temperature. It will keep coming on and off (so it in itself does not overheat)

 

[hobby5]

There is some other issue which is often overlooked. Where is your thermometer installed? If you do not have much flow in your tank their might be temp differences from top to bottom and also the corners far away from your heater might be cooler too.

 

[l_l_l]

True, but the situation has been advised in any case, being a pranoid and seeing the heater on sale, I bought the 75W yesterday, I have set it on the other corner of the aquarium and have been monitoring the temperature all day long, finally was able to set both heaters and have them set to be working hand in hand. Temperature set at 25.5c-26c!

 

[Dazzer87]

Just a side note. The temperature selector knob might have been installed a little off. My old 100W I had to set at 27 to keep it at 25

They are normally rated within an accuracy of + and - 2c for the element and +/- 0.5c just for the dial.  You can buy them new off the shelf and have to set it to 27 to keep it at 25. They are not very accurate. On the Jager heaters the arrow that indicates the temperature can slide so you can calibrate for the inaccuracy.