importance of wattage & size of heaters?

S

sushiray

AC Members
Jan 14, 2009
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new windsor, ny
I use 2 300w 14" heaters in my 72 gal, a 100w 10" in my 20 gal & 50w 6" in my 10gal

isn't it better more efficient to use higher wattage & longer size?

like for my 20g why not a 200w or 250w or 200w for my 10g so heats up faster & maintains desired temps without having to come on more frequent or stay on as long if using less wattage.

what say u all?
 
agree same energy units needed but how powerful your heating unit is determines how quick it heats up. just trying to figure if worth spending a bit more is worth it to get faster heating then maintains it longer & may use less electric?
 
There were a few threads on the heater size at other forums. If a heater is more powerful than necessary, it'll stay on and off much more frequently. That leads to a premature failure of the thermostat, which in turn leads to deaths of fish.
 
Dang, those are big heaters for small tanks! I've got a 300 w in my 8' long 250 g tank and it keeps it right at 80 degrees. I'm always scared of a heater not shutting off and overheating the tank. Fish would survive getting cooled down to room temp a lot better than being heated up to 100 degrees.
 
Chrisk-K said:
There were a few threads on the heater size at other forums. If a heater is more powerful than necessary, it'll stay on and off much more frequently. That leads to a premature failure of the thermostat, which in turn leads to deaths of fish.
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do u have any links?
 
I think you are fine on your 20 and 10 gallon tanks. On your 72, I would run 2 at 200 watts each.
 
Rbishop said:
I think you are fine on your 20 and 10 gallon tanks. On your 72, I would run 2 at 200 watts each.
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thks bob. but may I ask why 200w vs. 300w? what is the principle behind it?

now they have a 400 which I know I don't need but guess this is good for tanks >200gal?
 
do u have any links?
Click to expand...

Check for instance plantedtank forum. The point is obvious. A thermostat has a limited lifetime and its lifetime (i.e., failure) is determined by how many times it's been on and off. Also, a heater will eventually fail. When that happens, a more powerful heater will give you less time to deal with the failure.

I used to believe in "the bigger the heater is, the better." Not anymore. I regret getting a 300W ETH for a 40g. It goes on and off so frequently that I'm worried about its premature failure. Should have gotten a 200W.
 
Heater thermostats do occasionally malfunction and cause the heater to stay on. Out of about 150 tanks, I've had 3 heater malfunction in the past year. If the heater is overpowered for the tank and the heater coil does not turn off, you'll (literally) cook your fish. One of the tanks was 96 degrees f before I noticed it; everything was dead.

I would always recommend getting heaters that are slightly underpowered for the size of the tank and have two of them. That way even if one stays on, it won't have enough power to cook your tank.
 
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