heater?

[Catlid]

I am getting a 55g tank and was wondering what would be the best heater to get. I saw this one that has a probe that goes in the water and the control knob is outside, any recommendations?

[ewok]

i just use regular, submersible, tronic, visi-therm or ebo-jager heaters. they seem alright to me and none of them have given me problems yet.

depending on your environment you should do about 5 watts per gallon, preferrably using 2 heaters to get the proper amount. unless, of course, it's a smaller sized tank, then use one.

[aquariumfishguy]

If it was me, I would get two 125 watt heaters for both ends of the tank to evenly distribute a constant temperature.

[Lukara]

Ebo-jager heaters have worked very well for me.

[Catlid]

So with a 55g u guys recommend 1 or 2 heaters? Right now i got 2 100watt heaters between the two tanks i have set up, so if i used two i would use them and then buy one more and put it in the tank im not breaking down.

[aquariumfishguy]

I wouldnt put THREE heaters in there....just because they take up to much space and you dont want all that crap behind the scenes. Get two (2) 125 watt heaters for a 55 gallon tank. And yes, most would recommend 2 heaters as to evenly distribute heat.

[Dale W.]

Catlid,
I follow what you are saying and yes, that would work just fine. The bigger advantage of having 2 heaters is not just even distribution which will happen anyway with propper water flow but if one goes down, the other one will help keep the temp up.

I have had problems with the visa therm heaters in the past sticking "on" so I do not use them anymore. Ebo Jager is the way to go IMO.

[Catlid]

now i use the tronic ones, they seem to work great in my 20 and 25 g tanks. I used a heater that was not totaly submersible and woke up one morning with 3 dead fish in the tank. The tanks temp had risen well over 90 degrees, the only thing that survived was my gold severum which is doing great and eating like a pig.

[JSchmidt]

I'd go with two heaters also. How big? That depends... what is the max temp fluctuation in your home (e.g., does your thermostat kick off at night during the winter?). If you have stable temps year-round, you might find that a couple of 100 watters would be sufficient. If you have significant temp differentials (e.g., 78 degrees during the day, 55 at night), you might need two 200 watt heaters.

As for brands, Ebo Jagers (my faves) and Tronics are two commonly mentioned as best for quality and reliability. I'd be comfortable buying either brand.

HTH,
Jim

[125gJoe]

Ebo-Jager...... :)

[dethjam316]

do they even sell 125w heaters? i second ewok's recommendation on heaters. i've never used tronics but have heard only good things, and my visi-therms and ebo jagers have never given me problems.

with a 55g tank, i would say using 2 100w is plenty of heat, unless it's freezing in the room you're using it in. that's an important consideration. i live in florida, so most of the year my apartment stays between 75-80, so i can use small heaters, ie a 50w on a 20g, a 100w on a 40g, with no problems. but if your fish-related room is unheated or poorly heated or something, you require more wattage.

[Catlid]

house stays pretty warm, i live in cali btw

[dethjam316]

i'd go with 2 100w's in that case.

[forsure]

Can fish really burn themselves on heaters? Or is this an unreal concern/fear. It would make sense that fish could scald itself on a heating tube, but my fish swim around and under the heater with no sweat (pun intended). My pleco even sucks on it. They never seem to be negatively affected by its heat. Has anyones fish been burnt?

[Catlid]

i tocuhed one while its on, its only warm, its not scalding hot.

[aquariumfishguy]

'forsure', I often wondered the same thing because my favorite pleco sleeps right below the heater (I guess he likes the warmth) and I have felt it under water before with different results from what 'Catlid' has found...no, my heater was near "hot"! :eek:

I guess the fish like it though, eh? :confused:

[yhbae]

My heaters definitely don't get that hot either when submersed in water. I use two 150w heaters on a 25g tank due to the temperature up here (Montreal). Over night, during really cold night, the living room can approach 50F (the temperature set on our thermostat), and my normal tank temp is 77F - that's 27F to make up for. So far, the heaters seem to be handling the situation more than comfortably, although the coldest we've experienced so far is only 60F.

Same setup for the 33g. 150w on 15g, 100w on 10g, 100w on 5.5g.

In essence, my aquariums are heating up my house... :D
I'm fortunate that I live in the area which commands the lowest electricity cost in North America, otherwise it would have costed me a small fortune!

Most of them are Ebo Jager, but I have two Tronics. I feel all of them are decent.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I have 2 tronic and an Ebo-jager. They are both great heaters and you will be happy with what you pick. Sinse your house is rather warm, I would go with two 100 watt heaters. When you get them, place them horizontally on the bottom of the tank and near a filter intake for maximum efficiently.