what size heater

**foxy lady** · 02-03-2006, 7:48 PM

Hello
I am a female new to this site and the hobby,My dad just got a 45GAL. tank for me and unfortunatly it does not come with a good filter and no heater,I think the filter is called a box filter ,any way I want to get a not so expensive filter and a heater,dont't know much about either.can some of you pros help me out?is there a lot of female hobbyist here?
Thanks a bunch.
patricia.

**Hannys_Papa** · 02-03-2006, 8:19 PM

Actually yes there are a LOT of female aquaria hobbyists on this page. I am not one of them though...

As a filter i'd recommend the Aquaclear HOBs. They arent expensive at all and have a great reputation for reliability. They also make it easy to use whatever filter media your heart desires.

For heaters there are many to choose. I like the Visitherm Stealth. A lot of people that had bad experience with heaters malfunctioning and overheating their tank/ killing everything in the process would suggest to buy 2 smaller size heaters for a larger tank.
So instead of one 200W for your 45G you could get 2 x 100W.
When determining how much heating power you need its important to consider the temperature fluctuations in your house. If it gets very cold at times you might need more than just the standard 5 watts per gallon rule. (example: i have a 75 in a 10G because our house cools down to 60F at night)

Here are some links to the products i mentioned:

HOB Filter

Heaters

**Dolfan** · 02-04-2006, 1:59 AM

I'd go with the Emperor 280 filter. It has a biowheel that is very helpful for clean water. Plus it also has an extra media slot for extra filtration. Hanny's Papa has a good idea about the 2 smaller heater, Visitherm's are pretty good. I'm about to buy a Hydor Theo which I've heard are good, but I haven't used one yet. Here is a link to a bunch of product reviews that are very helpful....

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/

Also whatever you decide to go with, you can save a ton of money online. I've found most stuff at my local Petsmart, local fish shop are usually twice or three times as expensive as places online. The best online place I've found is www.bigalsonline.com. Do your research and find the stuff that best suits your needs. Good luck!