This morning my tank got extremely cold. Like, down to 55-60 degrees! Obviously, way to cold for my fish. So, my question is can I turn on the heater in the tank with a hillstream loach in it? Or will it burn the little guy? I usually don't have to use it, the tank just tends to stay warm, even in winter. So, is it safe? Should I take the risk? Or should I move the little guy to a small tank attached to the big one until it gets warmed up? Thanks!
Can I turn on my heater with hillstream loaches in the tank??
- Thread starter ppetropulo
- Start date
If the heater is working correctly then it won't turn on until the temperature of the water drops below the set temperature (I assume you're talking about an adjustable heater).
For example, if you set your heater at 22 degrees, the heater will switch on as soon as it drops to 21 degrees. As soon as the water is 22 degrees again, the heater will switch off. You can stick a heater in there just in case it ever does get too cold, and it won't fry your fish because it will never turn on above your set temperature.
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Well that's just it... Maybe there's something wrong with my heater, because in the past, I had it set to 75 degrees, and it wouldn't turn off when it got there. It would continue to heat my tank until I turned it off. So, up till this point it has been off because the tank has stayed warm by itself. It was just this morning that it got to cold. So, can I turn it on now and have my fish be ok? I just don't want my little hillstream loaches belly to get burned!!
If you don't feel confident in your current heater, get a new one. Definitely not the piece of equipment to try to be cheap on.
If that's the case then I wouldn't use it. If it doesn't work it doesn't work, you can't sit by the tank watching the thermometer and switching the heater on and off as appropriate. If you're concerned about the temperature of the tank then go and buy a new heater.
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Ok, but I still need to know if I can turn it on right now with thisin the tank!!
First of all yes, and secondly it doesn't matter because your heater doesn't work. It would be better to maintain a constant low temperature than you trying to regulate it by constantly switching it on and off, it just won't work. You'll leave the heater on until the desired temperature, and then turn it off and leave it thinking that the temperature will stay at that level, and it won't. As I said, this wouldn't work unless you sat next to the socket and kept switching it on and off!
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Hehe! Ok, I'll just leave it off until it warms up again. The tanks fine as long as I don't let the ambient temperature of the room drop below 65 degrees. It got really cold here last night though. I guess that winters on it way!!
