Heater in filter tank ok?

B

bobandfiona

AC Members
Dec 13, 2005
114
0
0
Dallas, TX
Yes, tis' the season for ich - we have it too! I am sure we will make it through though. Because of this, I am raising the temp gradually. My question is this - I have had my 100 watt heater for my 26gal bowfront in my new Bio-Wheel Marineland filtration system. So, the housing tank for the water and filter has the heater inside it as the water flows through. (I couldn't get the heater to do well until I put it in the water of the housing tank) Is this ok? Or at high temps am I killing all the bacteria in my bio-wheel? Can I keep it this way long term?
 
Nitrifying Bacteria will do well in high temperatures up to about 92*F where their enzymes denature and they start to do very poorly. If I recall correctly with their optimum temperature is 86* F which happens to be the temperature that you want to raise your water to during ich treatment so rather than hurting them, you will be benefiting them.
 
Be sure that if you choose to raise your temp to 85-86 that you do it in increments of a couple degrees every 2 hrs. You'll also wanna run an airstone as the higher temps will reduce oxygen levels for the fish.
 
That's great news. My filter is really strong - air bubbles everywhere so I am not concerned w/ oxygen levels. (even the gouramis get air bubbles on their bodies when they sit still for a long time!) I am glad to hear the heat will do the tank good. Especially since I just replaced my whole filtration system, I am trying to build up the bacteria quickly. Yes, I am doing the temperature change gradually. Actually, I had planned on 2 degrees per day, but after reading the ich article and looking at all the posts, it seems safe to do a degree per 2-3 hrs...so I should reach 86 degrees by tonight/tomorrow morning. Did salt, etc... Thanks everyone! I like the heater where its at, so I am glad to know it can stay there! ;)
 
Hey, dont mean to hijack your thread, but I thought it better than starting ANOTHER thread on the subject of ich. My question is if I have a 75 gal tank with driftwood, gravel, and rocks how am I supposed to determine the actual gallons of water in the tank?

What I did last nite was figured it as 60 gallons of actual water and used 120 teaspoons to get me to 2 tsp per gal. My question is- how high of a salt content is safe? I'm afraid I'm gonna have either too much for the fish or not enough salt to cure the ich. Please advise...

thanks,
dave
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom