Do I REALLY need a heater?

[emilyekk]

Okay, so in my 10 gallon I have always had a heater and except when I was cycling and had it cranked WAAAY up, it NEVER came on.

Well, in my 55gallon I am not running a heater and the have several thermometers in the water and it is consistently at 78 degrees.

I live in South Florida, so it's always ridiculously hot and our air conditioner is always at 78.


Sooo... do I really need a heater? Or if I need one, could I at least put off buying one until the winter when the weather may actually get below 90 degrees? lol...

Just curious because money is tight and I'd rather save the $25 if I could.

 

[Lycanthropic]

Hmm... sounds like you need a chiller. lol
I would say it would be fine for now, but when the weater does get cooler, just keep an eye on it. If It does start to drop, ebay has some pretty cheap heaters with free shipping in the us... which would save you some money. Hope that helps!

 

[leeser28]

I wouldn't bother until the weather gets cooler. I'd just check the temp at all different times to be sure it's not dropping, for example, in the middle of the night. Although, growing up in AZ with constant AC I understand that your house is climate controlled and remains the same temp, so there shouldn't be any temp fluctuations.

 

[andyjs]

If the room the tank is in is always at about 76-78 without more than a degree or two of variance, you really wouldn't need one. Just keep an eye on it to make sure the temp doesn't change too much

 

[emilyekk]

Okay thanks for the input guys.

I plan to get a stealth heater at some point - I'm just broke right now and since i don't even think it's necessary I want to put it off for at least a couple months, lol.

Looks like I get to wait - yey!

 

[bknapp]

Well it isnt an absolute nessicity at this point, but from my experinces it always helps, I used mine to help rid my tank of ich, with the heat and salt method.... So it would be helpful to have on hand, but not 100% nessicary.

 

[ksane]

It's well over 100 degrees where I'm at in the summer. I only run a heater from Nov to March. You might check fishbase.org for your fish's temp range. Most fish like is way cooler than we think they do.

 

[emilyekk]

It's well over 100 degrees where I'm at in the summer. I only run a heater from Nov to March. You might check fishbase.org for your fish's temp range. Most fish like is way cooler than we think they do.

Yea, thats always been a concern for me actually... which is why we almost never turn our air up anymore (we used to turn it up everytime we left the house)... now I'm worried the tank is gonna cook up to like 85 degrees...

 

[Carla G]

Okay thanks for the input guys.

I plan to get a stealth heater at some point - I'm just broke right now and since i don't even think it's necessary I want to put it off for at least a couple months, lol.

Looks like I get to wait - yey!

The Stealth is a good choice. Jager is also good. A cheap heater is the wrong place to try and save money. They can malfunction and cook your tank.

I can recall frosty mornings in Florida in the winter and the buildings and heating systems are not built for cold weather, so you really feel it. Your fish will definitely need a heater then!

 

[Canuck]

Keep in mind also its going to take hours for a 55 gallon tank to cool off (or heat up) if the ambient temperature changes. I also think some people go overboard worrying about temp changes.