So my heater for my 55-gallon tank is totally shot. I set it up early at the lowest setting and an hour later the temperature was at 78 and was still rising. The weather here has been really cold at night and I want to get a new heater, or two (one on each side). What would be a recommended heater that is wallet friendly. I only need the heater(s) during winter time because the rest of the year it's mostly above 90 F here. Thanks in advance!
Heater.
- Thread starter xoogleyx
- Start date
I would move this to the "freshwater equipment, products, &DIY" section of the forums. You will probably get more responses there.
everyone has their preference, but i like the marineland heaters, always worked great for me, a marineland 150watt should be more than enough for your 55.
I have visi therm stealth heaters on each of my 4 tanks, 2 of them, in fact on each tank. And in the 2 years I have been using them, never had a problem. Good luck.
Your best bet is a heater in the 200W to 250W range. The only way I have found to get a wallet friendly heater is to go on line for it. The LFS will be at least $10 more than the same heater on line.
I have only a 29 gal tank and even though winter is pretty mild out here in the San Francisco area, I still need to add a 50 watt heater in addition to the 100 watt that is sufficient the rest of the year. Without it the temperature would drop about 5 or more degrees at night and the occasional little Pristell tetra babies couldn't handle it.
echoofformless
Peat Advocate & Defender Of Snails
The majority of people have reported best results with the Stealth heaters. I have had great luck with the older style Rena heaters, but switched to Stealth when I read the consistently better reviews. I always go by reliability ratings when I make purchases.
I know you want something wallet friendly though...so I can't help you on that front. The truth is the world of aquarium heaters seems largely to be one of those unfortunate areas where price is often a factor in quality. So yes, you will spend a little more for a Stealth heater but the chances of another issue like the one you're having will be greatly reduced. Often it's better to invest a little more in something that will last rather than keep replacing one cheap piece of junk after another. You save a lot more in the long run.
For a great source of reviews on products look here:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/category_display.php
I know you want something wallet friendly though...so I can't help you on that front. The truth is the world of aquarium heaters seems largely to be one of those unfortunate areas where price is often a factor in quality. So yes, you will spend a little more for a Stealth heater but the chances of another issue like the one you're having will be greatly reduced. Often it's better to invest a little more in something that will last rather than keep replacing one cheap piece of junk after another. You save a lot more in the long run.
For a great source of reviews on products look here:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/category_display.php
Always go for the best you can find on a heater. The middle of the road or low end causes to many potential problems.
On a 55, I shoot for 200-300 watts, depending on room temp and whether the tank has a full cover. I also generally split the total wattage between two heaters.
On a 55, I shoot for 200-300 watts, depending on room temp and whether the tank has a full cover. I also generally split the total wattage between two heaters.