two heaters?

[Paul]

I have a 100 W submersible heater in my 30 gallon tank, and it doesn't seem quite up to the job. The water temp at the far end of the tank is about 4 degrees less than the thermometer setting. I have another 100 W heater just sitting around - should I add it to the tank and try to balance the two heaters? Or is this too much wattage?

[NJ Devils Fan]

Go for it, it's not that much and it should be good to balance the temperature between the sides.

[Prometheus]

I think something may not be right with your tank... or more so the location...

Having a 4 degree difference in a 30 (much less a 55 or 100) is weird... Do you have an AC vent blowing on one side of your tank or is one side of your tank getting direct sunlight? Is your water 'stagnant' / do you have a really weak water current?

My suggestions

1: move heater to middle of tank
or since you have a 2nd heater...

2: Place the other heater on the other side of tank... I try to keep my heater 4-6" from the side of the tank (obviously not the back) to prevent a kind of 'heat trap' where the water surrounding the heater cannot flow as easily and causes the heater to prematurely shut off...

Set up the heaters so that they come on and off together or as close together as possible, that may take a day or two of 'one click' adjustments...

Also having two heaters in the tank will save you alot of trouble should one burn out and you don't notce it for an extended period of time.

[Paul]

Nope, no AC vent, no direct sunlight, no stagnant water - I'm running two HOB filters with 245 gph. The room temp is 67 and I'm trying to keep the tank around 77. I have a Tronic 100 W heater set at around 79 but the water temp is around 76. Not a big deal, but it could become worse if the room temperature drops later in the winter. I'll try the second heater.

Thanks.

[yhbae]

I have a 150w on my 25g and I may have to add another heater on it as well!

Heating bills here is absolutely massive so we keep the heating level to the minimum. During the nights, the living room where the tank is located can dip close to 10C (50F). (Obviously, the bedrooms are heated to more appropriate levels... :D ) I'll be adding another 100w heater soon before it gets more cold.

What angle is your heater fixed on? I'm going to go greater than 45 degrees on both heaters so that they will appear more horizontal than vertical - this should give a better chance to equalize the temperature throughout the tank.

[Paul]

The heater is vertical - I never thought about turning it to disperse the heat better. Good suggestion.

The water temp is up a couple of degrees this morning, while the room temp is the same as last night, so the second heater must be doing some good (although I don't see it coming on - I'll have to fiddle with the settings some more).

[NJ Devils Fan]

Keeps the heaters (if the other is also submersible) horizontal and have them hear the filter intakes. That way, the hot water will be distributed nicely.

[yhbae]

Yes, that might be the reason for your tank having such a variance in temperature... As the post aobve suggests you can go extreme and go completely horizontal...