Tell me about your heating ideas. 1 or 2 heaters???placement???size???
It's for a 100 gal cichlid tank, but would like to hear what everyone has done.
It's for a 100 gal cichlid tank, but would like to hear what everyone has done.
Heating?????
- Thread starter GVT
- Start date
Spreading the total wattage among more that one heater is always safer. If you have a single heater and it mulfunctions, you risk loosing all your fish due to overheating (or, more rarely, overcooling).
If you have a sump, you can hide your heaters there. Otherwise, I'd put them horizontally along the substrate. This way you won't need to turn them off during partial water changes. Besides, the heat distribution will be more even when heaters are placed horizontally. Naturally, they must be fully submersible. If you have a powerhead or a filter nearby, they'll provide even better heat distribution.
For the tank of this size I'd use two 200W heaters (considering the fact that my room temperature is never far from 60-70F).
If you have a sump, you can hide your heaters there. Otherwise, I'd put them horizontally along the substrate. This way you won't need to turn them off during partial water changes. Besides, the heat distribution will be more even when heaters are placed horizontally. Naturally, they must be fully submersible. If you have a powerhead or a filter nearby, they'll provide even better heat distribution.
For the tank of this size I'd use two 200W heaters (considering the fact that my room temperature is never far from 60-70F).
Last edited:
i use 2 - 250 watt ebos' on my 90g in an indirectly heated basement. i haven't made it thru the winter yet, so i am unsure if this will be enough for me, but for a decently heated room it should be good.
generally 5 watts per gallon is recommended, but in a cooler environment it takes astronomical watts to raise the temp more than a few degrees.
generally 5 watts per gallon is recommended, but in a cooler environment it takes astronomical watts to raise the temp more than a few degrees.
Never used a full sub. heater It kinda scares me! I was an electrician for 6yrs and the water and elec. thing still scares me!!
But it sounds like a great method. I live in Gulfport MS It has snowed twice in twenty yrs, they say(i just moved from IL)
Average indoor temp. will be 75-80F maybe higher. Any more ideas? tell me anything!
But it sounds like a great method. I live in Gulfport MS It has snowed twice in twenty yrs, they say(i just moved from IL)
Average indoor temp. will be 75-80F maybe higher. Any more ideas? tell me anything!
Naturraly the temperature of the house has a greater effect on the tanks temperature than the temperature outside. If you keep your house at 70 degrees year round, you will probably be good with 2 200 Watts, or maybe 1 200 Watt and 1 250 Watt.
I have good even temp control in this house, so gave up using heaters at all. Due to their lights and multiple filters, all my tanks run several degrees above the ambient, so need no supplemental heat. I keep a few on hand for QT tanks in case I have to run higher temps for treatment.
gvt: ground the tank if it bugs you..... they sell kits. anything happens the ground should discharge it, and another good thing to consider is gfi's or ground fault interrupts.
i keep my tanks @ 80 generally but anything above 70 should be good and the heater might be redundant. i personally would still use them though.
i keep my tanks @ 80 generally but anything above 70 should be good and the heater might be redundant. i personally would still use them though.
ewok has pretty powerful wattage in his basement, which I gather is only indirectly heated from the house, eh?
An old-fashioned rule of thumb when you're calculating heater wattage was, two watts to raise each gallon five degrees above the ambient room temperature. So a ten-gallon tank kept at 75oF in a room that was 70o would need a 20-watt heater. Less wattage than many of us are now using, maybe?
An old-fashioned rule of thumb when you're calculating heater wattage was, two watts to raise each gallon five degrees above the ambient room temperature. So a ten-gallon tank kept at 75oF in a room that was 70o would need a 20-watt heater. Less wattage than many of us are now using, maybe?
rtr: the obvious, avoid temperature fluctuations at all. my few experiences with ich have all come with colder temperatures, this is an old house.... why risk it? for the $30 or $40 i paid for the heaters they are cheap insurance too, in case of whatever happens. it doesn't cost anything besides intitial investment if they never run and i doubt they will wear out like that. i like those fish down there and they wouldn't be there if i could keep them in the normal areas.... not to mention there is the off chance of furnace failure or other unknown problems.....
wetman: there is no substantial heat source down there, the temperature is strictly radiated heat from the furnace and heating pipes. maybe some slight heat from the freezer and gas refrigerator. it is not cold and has never been, but the possibilty still exists and there are no direct radiators in there at all. 2x 250 is only500 watts...... on a 90g with high circulation..... it's only a little more than 5 wpg.
i also remember reading somewhere, that raising the tank temperature above the ambient temperature is more on a curve. the higher above ambient the more watts you need. there is a threshold value, something like 10 degrees above ambient temp, that anything above that point actually starts to require massive watts....... i think it had to do with the amount of surface area for radiated heat loss, after a certain point the tank actually begins to heat the surroundings like say a radiator for your furnace. so take for example say 60 to 70 degrees, it is very easy and requires few watts, but 50 to 70 would be different, and not be twice the watts (for 60 to 70) like you might expect, but more like 5 x the watts............ this may be total bull, but i think i remember seeing this referenced in a couple of places when i was doing research on heaters and the concept made sense to me.
i also think that by having big heaters they do not work as hard, and this would be a cause for premature failure. (working too hard) if they can stay on for 5 minutes and do the job and shut down and cool off, it is alot less wear and tear than taking 1/2 hour for the same job. metals and other substances have a "finite" life and will only tolerate certain things for certain amounts of time, take the heating coils for example... they heat they expand they shut off they cool and contract.... over time the metal will become brittle and eventually that would cause failure.
if you'd like i could find my references i think still regarding the watts per gallon and ambient temperature. the premature failure theory is just that, conjecture based on fact, but i am sure i can reference metal failure rates also...........
